Bison
At almost 59 years of age I had never seen a Bison in the wild…until May of 2024 that is.
American Bison or “American Buffalo” or simply “Buffalo” is a mammal that runs deep in the roots and history of the American Wild West and plains of Canada. Although, there are actually two different subspecies. The Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae), the larger of the two and found in northern British Columbia and Northern Plains - is the heaviest and longest terrestrial animal in North America and Siberia.
The Plains Bison (Bison bison bison), so popular they named it three times, is smaller and found in the plains of the American Midwest, like Wyoming. The Plains Bison is what we saw and for the purposes of this edition of in the field, will be referred to simply as Bison.
Grand Teton NP, Wyoming
I almost immediately fell in love with this massive mammal when we saw them for the first time just after sunrise on our first full day in Wyoming, in Grand Teton National Park. There really isn’t much not to love about these awesome earth animals. They look powerful, they seem to have a strong sense of family and community, and most of all, they give absolutely zero fxxks.
On our way up to northern Yellowstone NP in Montana, we stopped at one of the many hot springs for a look-see at what all the fuss is about. Yep, they are cool. But cooler yet was walking through, standing or lying down in the parking lot were some of a herd of bison. Now this is the time I remind everyone, if you ever visit Grand Teton or Yellowstone, do NOT pet or get close to the fluffy cows. Remember, they can weigh between 816 to 1,088 kilograms (1,800 and 2,400 pounds) and while appear to be slow can jump over a six foot barrier and run up 56 kmph (35 mph). Not something you want to take your chances with. #dontpetthefluffycows
To say they attract a lot of attention is an understatement. So people, using a cell phone, try and get close for their photos. All my photos were taken with a high powered telephoto lens at a respectable and safe distance.
Then there are the calves or commonly known as “Red Dogs” for their similarity, for a little while at least, to a full grown red dog. They are cute as all get out, they get the zoomies, they fall over themselves, they play with others and they fall asleep hard! They can walk within minutes of being born and run quite soon after that. They nurse until about six months old before being weaned onto their diet of grass.
Red Dogs also have an important role in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as they are often hunted by wolf packs if they stray too far from the protection of the herd. While that sounds terrible, it is the circle of life that nature has created, and a bison calf can feed about half of a good sized wolf pack. We were honoured to see it unfold our first day in Lamar Valley.
On our final day in Yellowstone heading back south to Jackson Hole, we encountered a few bison just walking down the road giving…well you know the saying. It was at that time I determined these animals are my spirit animal. Although I give a few Fs. lol
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