Canadian Man Pleads Guilty To Picking Up Bison Calf, Given Six Months Probation

A French Canadian received six months of probation after pleading guilty Thursday to putting a bison calf in his car at Yellowstone National Park because he thought the animal was cold. Shamash Kassam should pay $500 to the Yellowstone Park Foundation Wildlife Protection Fund, federal magistrate Mark Carman ordered at the Yellowstone Justice Center. Kassam will also serve six months of unsupervised probation, as well as pay a $200 fine. Park officials cited Kassam on May 17 for disturbing wildlife. According to the citation, Kassam put the bison calf in his car because it was “wet and shivering” and drove to a ranger station. Yellowstone officials later euthanized the bison calf after the human interaction caused the animal to be rejected by its herd. Kassam told a park ranger he saw the baby bison in the middle of the road near Buffalo Ranch, according to the citation. He said he did not see any other bison in the vicinity and he waited 20 minutes to see if any adult bison would come back for the calf. Kassam said the animal appeared to be seeking warmth from his car’s engine...more