Bison in the Campground

Bison are everywhere in Yellowstone.  Several big males wandered through the campground like this one.

Bison Die

In the photograph below you can see two brown shapes.  The one on the right is a dead bison.  How he died?  I do not know.  The brown shape to the left is a full-grown grizzly approaching for breakfast.

Over the next several days many hundreds if not thousands of people gathered to watch the spectacle as grizzlies, wolves, birds and other carrion gathered to feast on this dead bison.

Bison Wallow

During the Summer flies and mosquitoes pester the living hell out of every breathing thing in North America.  Bison have developed a method to rid themselves of these pests called wallowing.  The series of photos below shows a full-grown male bison wallowing in order to rid himself of pesky insects.

Bison Swim

The Yellowstone River runs through the section of Yellowstone National Park near where I stayed at Bridge Bay Campground.  The Yellowstone River runs cold, fast and deep.  During the time I stayed in the area it claimed the lives of at least two people.

I wasn’t surprised to see bison swimming across the Yellowstone, but it did give me some action to show in the photos.

Full-grown male bison can weigh as much as 2000 pounds (over 900 kilos).

From these photos you can see they sink almost completely under when they swim, with just their backs and their noses remaining out of the water.

They are also powerful enough to swim straight across the river.  They didn’t drift with the current.

Even the big bison below powered his way straight across the river.

Bison Herd

Above is an American Bison.  Bison are herd animals.  They derive security from gathering in herds to protect themselves from predators like wolves and bears.

Sunday: American Bison

Good Sunday morning…