348 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



in the thickly forested region about 125 miles southwest of 

 Fort Smith. There were apparently no young animals with 

 this herd, and it was believed that wolves had accounted for 

 any there may have been. In 1907 Inspector A. M. Jarvis and 

 Ernest Thompson Seton in much the same region found two 

 herds of 13 and 20. 



Fortunately, in December, 1922, the Canadian Government 

 set aside as Wood Buffalo Park an area of 10,500 square miles, 

 which included the entire habitat of the known herds, as a 

 sanctuary. This was subsequently enlarged to 17,300 square 

 miles and placed under the charge of a dozen skilled rangers. 

 By 1929 the number of animals had increased to about 1,500, 

 or nearly three times the number estimated to inhabit the 

 region in 1914 (Harper, 1932). This satisfactory increase has 

 continued, but an undesirable element has been that since 1925 

 there have been transported to Wood Buffalo Park the increase 

 of the Wainwright herd of Plains buffalo from central Alberta 

 in at least four annual shipments totaling 6,673 animals. On 

 account of the close relationship of the two races, it seems in- 

 evitable that they must interbreed and that the remnant of the 

 wood buffalo will eventually be represented by a mongrel 

 stock. From a zoological point of view this result will be 

 highly undesirable, but on the other hand may, through the 



* 



Wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) 



