Yukon wood bison hunt has been slow this season

There's only another week and a half left in the bison hunting season in the Yukon, but recent government numbers show it has been slow so far.

As of Wednesday morning, 60 wood bison have been harvested in the hunting season, slated to end on Feb. 28, according to officials with the Yukon's Environment Department.

The number of harvested bison represents only 30 per cent of the 200 bison the department has authorized to be harvested this season.

"The extremely cold weather in December and January, that really put a damper on things. And also that extreme warm spell we had was the exact opposite," hunter Dean Turner told CBC News.

"So we had a lot of overflow on the creeks and lakes and things like that. [It] might have been a bit more difficult to get around and it's hard snow to travel in when it's starting to melt like that."

Turner, who has taken part in the Yukon's annual wood bison hunt since 1999, said the season has been slow.

"The only way to really properly hunt them now is to get off your snow machine once you find some sign, and then just track them and see if you can catch up to them," he said. "But so far we haven't seen any."

Environment officials say they will announce sometime next week whether they will extend the hunt into March, after they look at the final numbers and consult with First Nations.

"It makes it a lot easier to get out there," Turner said of a possible extension.

"The weather's warmer, so you can do winter camping you have longer days, so you can be out there longer to actually follow through on your hunt."

The Yukon has had an annual wood bison harvest since 1998 to control large populations in the territory's Aishihik area. There are currently about 1,100 bison in the herd.