Five bison were killed in two overnight collisions at Elk Island National Park and RCMP said weather at the time was a major factor.
Officers from Fort Saskatchewan were called to the park east of Edmonton around 4 a.m. Thursday.
Near the entrance to the park, they three bison already dead and two others suffering extensive injuries.
Three were young females, one was a young male, and one was a middle-aged male, Park Canada said on Friday.
RCMP said two pickup trucks were involved in two different overnight collisions and the drivers stayed at the scene to wait for police.
Police said there was heavy fog in the area when the crashes happened and that is believed to have been a major factor in the crashes.
The two bison that were still alive but suffering sustained significant injuries were euthanized by RCMP and Parks Canada. Police said they all belonged to the same herd.
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RCMP said speed and alcohol were not factors in the crash, and while EMS responded to the crash, no one in the vehicles was injured.
“Parks Canada takes the protection of wildlife very seriously and works hard to reduce human-caused wildlife mortality,” said a statement released on Friday.
“Parks Canada would like to remind motorists to observe speed limits and to drive with caution especially in the early morning and evening hours when it may be more difficult to see wildlife.”
While speed did not contribute to these crashes, a year ago officials at the park spoke out about vehicles travelling too fast through the park, sometimes hitting and killing bison.
Digital speed signs in the park — there are five total — caught motorists going as fast as 100 kilometres an hour over the speed limit: 144 km/h in a 40 km/h zone.
Between 2020 and 2023, at least six bison were killed by vehicles in the park.
The park took measures to slow down drivers, including installing speed bumps.
The national park is located about 30 kilometres east of Edmonton.
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