On the northeast coast of North America, in the Canadian Bay of Fortune, is Brunette, which passed from being uninhabited to being the area chosen for a curious experiment biological: species such as caribou, elk, and arctic hare were introduced there.
Following a population peak of 300 in the 1950s, the 20 km² island was abandoned as part of the Canadian government’s major resettlement operations. Shortly after, it became a wildlife reserve and a biological experimentation area, according to the media..
An article dated October 4, 1963 reported the announcement by then Provincial Minister of Resources, William J. Keough, of a plan to introduce bison as a new big game animal in Newfoundland. To test this experiment, Brunette Island was chosen, which had similar vegetation and enough space, to enter 20 of these copies.
If the experiment went well after three years of study, the goal was to move the bison to Newfoundlandwhere they could roam the southern prairies. To carry it out, they transported the animals, from Alberta, by train and then on a freighter, although they arrived on the island by raft due to the lack of port infrastructure on the island in 1964.
At first, the herd settled, but after two years the experiment suffered a serious blow when only eight of the 20 animals survived. The rest disappeared “a victim of poaching or probably falling into the sea from the cliffs,” according to the French media.. Over time the species reproduced, but it never exceeded a dozen specimens..
Finally, the last bison on Brunette Island disappeared in 1996three decades after the start of the experiment. Currently, the only species remaining on the island are some caribou and arctic hares.
