PARK SECURITY TIGHTENED AFTER BISON BULL'S DEATH.

Byline: Amy Raisin Darvish Staff Writer

Officials at William S. Hart Park have opted to forgo a postmortem examination of a young male bison acquired in May, despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding the animal's death.

Dave Stives, the park's animal keeper for the last six years, said there are no plans to acquire another bison bull for the females in a small herd until security has been tightened.

He said higher fences, locked pens and increased patrols of the animal areas will be implemented as a precaution at the park, which has other animals that draw visitors, including deer, horses, goats and birds.

Police investigating the bison death said that, without performing a necropsy - a postmortem examination - it is likely the actual cause of death will never be known.

``We'll take the investigation as far as we can and interview people who may have seen or heard something,'' said Capt. Ed Entwisle of the Los Angeles County Police Department. ``But without a (necropsy), just what happened may never be known.''

Stives discovered the dead animal Tuesday in a pen inaccessible to the bison without human intervention. Large sections of the 18-month-old bull had been eaten by coyotes, Entwisle said.

Amy Raisin Darvish, [phone]

amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com