Buffalo in Canada

The roundup of the Pablo-Allard herd took three years to complete. In the end, 709 buffalo were shipped from Montana to Alberta. The original plan was to ship the Buffalo to the newly formed Buffalo National Park at Wainwright, Alberta, but the fences and outbuildings were not yet ready in 1907. The first loads of Pablo’s Buffalo were instead shipped to Elk Island National Park, via the railway station at Lamont, AB. The buffalo became an enormously popular attraction at Elk Island and, when the Buffalo were set to be moved to Wainwright in 1909, Frank Oliver ordered 30 to 50 Buffalo left behind at Elk Island. This small herd left at Elk Island flourished and buffalo from it have since helped support conservation projects in Canada and the United States.

 

The final shipments of Buffalo from the Pablo-Allard herd were shipped to Buffalo National Park by 1912. This herd also received buffalo from the Conrad herd in Montana and from the display herd at Banff National Park. In 1914 there were 748 buffalo in Buffalo National Park.