Buffalo National Park was established in 1906 in an attempt to re-establish the bison that had been hunted nearly to extinction by the 1880s. By 1910 over 700 bison had been brought to the park from Montana. In the early 1920s a number of the animals were sent north to Wood Buffalo National Park. By 1939, the herd had increased to 27,000, but due to confined spaces and the limited genetic stock many were diseased. In the winter of 1940–41, these were killed, and the reserve was turned over to the military. This became the Wainwright Military Reserve. The park was officially abolished in 1947.