FORT SIMPSON - A group of bison almost made Kerry Kraft and Lionel Nadia miss the last ferry of the day to Fort Simpson on June 10.

The two village residents were driving home after a weekend trip when they hit an unexpected roadblock on Highway 7, north of Fort Liard.

Looking ahead, they could see a few bison on the road, said Kraft. After slowing the truck down, more bison came out of the bush on either side of the road until there were approximately 30 animals blocking the vehicle, Kraft said.

"I've never seen that many in one spot and you can't do anything," she said.

Despite repeated honks from the truck's horn, the bison didn't seem interested in moving. The group of bison, including bulls, cows and calves, stayed on the road for about 20 minutes until a vehicle came from the other direction which caused them to move off, said Kraft.

The timing was close, she said, because the delay almost made them miss the ferry. Kraft said she's had to stop for bison before but never for that long.

Lionel Nadia said he's had to stop a few times during trips to Yellowknife. One time a group stalled him for almost an hour.

Other motorists on Highway 7 can expect to see similar groups of bison.

Nic Larter, regional biologist, is cautioning motorists to watch out for bison on the highway, especially between kilometre markers 60 to 100. There are unusually high numbers of the animals near the road.

While driving on the highway on June 9, Larter saw a group of 47 bison.

"That's a very large group," he said.

The largest group of bison seen on the road in that area was a group of 48 last year in the middle of July. It's unusual to see groups of this size in June, said Larter.

The bison might be moving to the road because high water levels on the Liard River have flooded the low-lying areas near the river that the animals would normally be in, he said.

In addition to counting the group that was milling near a pull-off rest area, Larter saw lots of tracks on the road and bison patties.

"I've never seen it where there's been cow patties on the middle of the road," he said.

Motorists also need to watch for bison on a longer stretch of the highway than normal.

During his trip Larter saw one bull close to Blackstone Territorial Park. It's rare to see bison on the road that far north. Normally they are seen south of that point, he said.

With all of the sightings and evidence put together, it indicates there is a lot of bison activity on the highway, said Larter.

"People need to be aware of that," he said.