Yellowstone National Park, sprawling across 2.2 million acres of rugged wilderness, is a living testament to North America’s wild past. Its broad valleys and steaming geysers are home to an astonishing array of wildlife, but none are more emblematic than the bison and the elk – two species whose stories intertwine with the landscape and with human ambition, both at home and far across the globe.
Visitors flock to Yellowstone each year, cameras in hand, eager to spot the park’s legendary bison. According to reporting from 2024, Yellowstone boasts the largest bison population on public land in the United States, with an estimated 5,400 animals roaming free. These massive creatures – the largest land mammals in North America – can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and sprint at speeds up to 35 miles per hour. Yet, despite their imposing size and the park’s clear rules, tourists often underestimate the risks these animals pose.
On May 9, 2026, a widely circulated article recounted a troubling incident in the Pebble Creek area of Yellowstone. A tourist allowed a toddler to approach a bison, flagrantly violating park regulations that require visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from the animals. The bison, fortunately, remained calm, but the situation could have taken a dangerous turn in an instant. As the article emphasized, bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal. Their unpredictable nature and ability to run three times faster than a human make close encounters especially hazardous.
Yellowstone’s rules for wildlife encounters are explicit: keep a minimum distance of 25 yards from bison and other large mammals, and 100 yards from wolves and bears. Approaching bison can provoke a range of warning behaviors, including bluff charging, head bobbing, pawing, bellowing, or snorting. These are all signals that a charge may be imminent. The park’s advice is clear – do not stand your ground. Walk or run away immediately, and use bear spray if the animal follows. Despite these warnings, incidents like the one at Pebble Creek persist, endangering both people and the park’s iconic wildlife.
If bison are Yellowstone’s most recognizable residents, elk are certainly its most abundant. During the summer months, between 10,000 and 20,000 elk roam the park in six to seven distinct herds, according to the National Park Service. These animals, too, have shaped the park’s history and the broader American landscape in surprising ways.
In a remarkable episode chronicled on May 8, 2026, the legacy of Yellowstone’s elk took a dramatic turn more than a century ago. In 1905, seven cow elk and three bulls were shipped from Washington, D.C. – after being captured in Yellowstone – to New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park. The elk’s journey spanned more than 7,500 nautical miles, likely setting a record for the species’ migration distance. The story, brought to light by former Billings Mayor Bill Cole and his wife Anne after a visit to New Zealand, illustrates the far-reaching influence of Yellowstone’s wildlife.
Fiordland, New Zealand’s largest national park at over 2.9 million acres, became the new home for these transplanted elk. The animals were introduced for trophy hunting, a practice encouraged by early 20th-century acclimatization societies eager to populate the country with exotic game. Over the years, Yellowstone elk interbred with red deer imported from England and Scotland, producing hybrids known locally as "wapiti," a nod to the Native American name for elk. These wapiti, prized for their impressive antlers and large size, remain a coveted trophy for hunters and a staple of New Zealand’s venison market, where cuts can fetch between $13 and $34 per pound.
The introduction of elk to Fiordland was part of a broader colonial effort to stock New Zealand with familiar plants and animals. As noted by New Zealand’s conservation authorities and chronicled in the New Zealand Geographic, British colonists in the 1860s significantly increased the importation of exotic species, including Atlantic salmon, trout, deer, Canada geese, partridge, and pheasants. The goal was to recreate the hunting and fishing opportunities of home, often with little regard for the ecological consequences.
Over time, the Yellowstone elk and their descendants multiplied, impacting native species in Fiordland that were not adapted to compete with such large grazers. To manage the growing population, the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation was established. Working with New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, the foundation oversees hunting licenses and population control measures. The first elk hunting licenses were issued in 1923, and by 1950, demand had grown so much that a ballot system was introduced to allocate permits. Today, 25 hunting blocks attract hundreds of applicants each year, a testament to the enduring allure of these animals.
Back in Yellowstone, the elk’s journey from near-extermination to abundance is a story of both peril and perseverance. In 1919, after a particularly harsh winter, officials feared the elk would be wiped out as they left the park in search of food, only to be slaughtered by residents of Montana and Wyoming. As Frederic J. Haskin wrote in an Arizona Republic article titled "Wiping out the elk," "The Yellowstone elk herd is truly a national resource from which people all over the United States derive pleasure in some way." Since 1912, at least fifty shipments of elk from Yellowstone have been sent to twenty-five different states, helping to restore populations in places where they had been exterminated nearly a century earlier.
The transplantation of elk – and the ongoing challenges of managing both native and introduced populations – highlights the complex relationship between people and wildlife. In New Zealand, the majestic wapiti now symbolize a unique blend of American and British hunting traditions, even as conservationists grapple with their impact on native ecosystems. In Yellowstone, the park’s bison and elk remain a draw for visitors, a reminder of the wildness that once defined the continent.
Whether it’s a family standing too close to a bison in Pebble Creek or a New Zealand bakery advertising venison pie beneath stylized antlers, the stories of Yellowstone’s wildlife continue to fascinate, challenge, and inspire. As these animals roam the open spaces of Yellowstone and Fiordland, they connect distant lands and generations, embodying both the risks and the rewards of living alongside the wild.