Chris Woodall
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 26/05) - Crashing into a bison on Hwy 3 is not the best way to get fresh hamburger.

The rambling beasts are touring the highway again with the Department of Transportation cautioning drivers to keep a sharp eye out.

The risk grows greater as the days grow shorter. "Most vehicle-bison collisions occur between mid-August and mid-November when hours of daylight decrease and there is little or no snow on the ground to provide contrast to make these animals more visible," explains Art Barnes, South Slave regional superintendent.

Highway 3 from Yellowknife to Fort Providence is the worst for collisions. In 2004, eight of 11 incidents were on this stretch of pavement. The others were on highways 5 (two) and 7 (one).

A bull bison in top form can bend the scale at 1,000 kilograms. But he won't win any headbutting contests with steel and wheel. Humans have occasionally been injured - there were two people hurt last year - but their vehicles have often been write-offs.

"We all like to see bison as we drive along the highways," Barnes says. "But you don't want to see one as it's coming through your windshield."

One question that begs is: what happens to the carcass?

"We're opposed to any wastage at all," says Raymond Bourget, senior wildlife officer for North Slave region, department of Environment and Natural Resources.

If an animal has a life-threatening injury in the North Slave region, a wildlife officer will kill it and take it to Rae where any salvageable meat will be distributed to the community. Animals killed outright by the accident vehicle will be dragged deep into the bush so nature will consume it.

People are rarely tempted to salvage meat from a crunched animal, Bourget says, but it happens. "A person can't take any part of a big game animal, but they can take a calf," Bourget said.

Even then, the driver must go immediately to the nearest wildlife office to report the accident and register the calf.

But wouldn't this loophole open up an opportunity to aim for a calf? "The potential is always there for someone to think, 'I've got a big enough bumper' and take it (the calf)," Bourget admits, but it's not likely. "When there's a severe impact, the internal organs explode and impregnate the animal's body with contaminates in the organs."