Canada has succeeded in recent efforts to boost bison numbers and has a small surplus with limited space for the creatures, said Canadian Wildlife Service spokesman, Hal Reynolds.
Bison, which have roamed Canada since the last Ice Age, are the largest terrestrial mammal in North America. The hairy beasts are a threatened species which have been extinct in Siberia for more than 5,000 years. Indeed, Russian officials are eager to reintroduce Canada's excess bison to the Siberian steppe.
"This project for the reintroduction of wood bison into the Republic of Sakha Yakutia began some time ago," said Reynolds. "We look at this as an opportunity to participate in an international effort to conserve a species at risk."
Reynolds said the transfer of the animals to another continent was a good way to preserve the species, in case disease were to strike Canada's bison population.
A team of Russian experts is in Canada to ensure a safe transfer and a group of Canadians will follow the bison to Siberia, where they'll be quarantined for up to a year.
Still, there were some skeptics. Peter Ewins, species conservation director at World Wildlife Fund Canada, said he's wary of the bison barter because animal translocation is complicated, requires long-term planning and is often unsuccessful or harmful.
"There are good reasons why one wouldn't want to take that genetic stock from one region and put it on the other side of the planet," Ewins said, citing rampant poaching in Russia and increased risk of infectious cattle disease as examples.
"If you go back far enough, you could create a case for reintroduction of hippos and lions to Canada," he said. "But with Russia there's huge problems reinforcing any semblance of wildlife conservation."
In North America, species reintroduction has worked in the past -- the California condor and swift fox are two well-known success stories.
Lisa L. Manne, assistant professor of conservation biology at the University of Toronto, said those cases were different because they occurred within neighboring regions and involved larger numbers.
"It's quite controversial," Manne said. "There's the issue of whether 30 is enough to establish a viable population.
"The Canadian bison are adapted to Canadian prairie conditions." She was also concerned about the impact that a thriving bison population would have on Siberian native grasses. "If there are no other grazers, then the plant community is going to take a big hit," she said.
