A record 201 woodland bison were harvested this season, according to the figures provided by Environment Yukon.

Well over half, 111 bison, were taken in the month of March.

Environment Yukon biologist Tom Jung attributes the last month’s success to nice weather.

“We had the right conditions in terms of enough snow and the temperatures,” he said. “I think it really was probably because of the weather.”

Because there is a high degree of interest in the bison hunt, when the conditions are right, Yukoners want to be out there, he said.

Jung said the 201 bison harvested do not include the nine bison shot by conservation officers this month as part of the ongoing program to test the bison for diseases.

Disease management is a part of the national recovery strategy for bison and is incorporated into the Yukon bison management plan, he pointed out.

Jung said officers have harvested 31 bison to disease testing over the last four seasons.

Results from testing in three previous seasons have come back negative.

The bison hunting season runs from Sept. 1 to March 31.

This year’s harvest exceeded last year’s harvest by 21 animals.

Jung also noted this year’s harvest of cows was much higher than usual, and Yukon hunters are to be thanked.

Harvesting cows helps to achieve the government’s desire to bring down the overall bison numbers by reducing the reproductive potential of the herd, the senior biologist explained.

He said cows are also tougher to hunt generally because they tend to congregate with other cows and calves in groups ranging anywhere from eight to 40 animals, reducing their overall distribution compared to bulls.

Bulls tend to congregate in much smaller groups of five to six animals or as few as three, so they’re more spread out as a result, he said.

He said cows tend to be more skittish and more apt to take flight at the sound of motorized vehicles.

Of the 201 harvested, 105 or 52 per cent were bulls while the 96 cows taken represent 48 per cent.

Of the 179 bison harvested last year, 100 or 56 per cent were bulls and 44 per cent were cows.

Generally speaking, the harvest is usually closer to two-thirds bulls and one-third cows, Jung said.

Environment Yukon has been promoting the harvest of cows since the late 1990s when the bison harvest began.

After bison were transplanted into the Yukon in the 1980s and early 1990s as part of the national recovery strategy, the management goal was to maintain the population at around 500 animals, though the ceiling was quickly exceeded.

Today’s management target is to reduce the herd to 1,000 animals and maintain it at that level.

A census in 2014 put the population at 1,470 animals. Another census was conducted last summer but the results are not expected to be available until next month.

Environment Yukon issued 1,630 bison permits for this season, or 165 more than the 1,465 permits issued last year, according to figures provided by the department.