Big Sky Times

Bison that are making their way back into Yellowstone National Park are receiving assistance in the form of tunnels that are being carved out to make the journey less difficult.

Volunteers with the Buffalo Field Campaign, along with assistance from the Montana Department of Transportation, excavated tunnels specifically for bison that were on their way north for the winter, KPAX reported. Because West Yellowstone had more than five feet of snow this winter, and because road plowing caused massive berms of snow along Highway 191, travel for the bison was made extremely difficult.

 According to the Buffalo Field Campaign, 19 bison have been hit and killed on local highways this winter, including 13 that were killed in one semi-truck incident in December, KPAX reported.

 Instead of having to make their way slowly along Route 191, the bison can now use the newly excavated pathways to make their way across the highway. The newly excavated tunnels were positioned in such a way as to follow the herd's preferred path back into the park. 

The bison population in Yellowstone National Park ranges from 2,300 to 5,500 animals and is divided into two subpopulations based in the Lamar Valley and the surrounding high plateaus, where the northern herd chooses to have their young, according to the National Park Service. Hayden Valley is where the center herd does its breeding.