Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson, All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Laura Lundquist, Bozeman Chronicle

Gardiner-area resident Bill Hoppe last week killed a bull bison outside his home in Jardine.

Riders with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the Department of Livestock had hazed bison away from Hoppe’s residence several times prior to the shooting, said FWP spokeswoman Andrea Jones.

Bison are allowed to wander outside of Yellowstone National Park until May 1, but riders haze the animals away from private property where owners don’t want them.

On Friday, Hoppe’s wife saw three bison in the yard and was worried for the safety of her dog, which was chained to the side of the house.

She called Hoppe, who came home and tried to disperse the bison, Jones said.

Hoppe said one of the bison charged him so he shot it, Jones said.

Hoppe then killed the bison and called FWP wardens, who surveyed the scene. They hazed the other two bison back into the park.

The bison was field-dressed and the meat was sent to be processed for local food banks. The gut pile was left in the yard.

Jones said the bison might have been more on edge because they’ve been repeatedly hazed. Bison aren’t normally aggressive except when protecting young.

FWP encourages landowners to request help when dealing with bison. But bison are not protected as an endangered species, and people can shoot bison to protect themselves.

Last spring, Hoppe shot one of two wolves that were suspected of killing sheep that he placed on a pasture he leased a few weeks before near Corwin Springs.