You will find them all over Yellowstone. Thousands are roaming the national park freely. 2000 pounds of muscles grunting and snorting. Yes, we are talking about the largest mammal in North America – the Bison.
I had seen bison before in Waterton National Park, but that is a small herd and they are confined within a smaller fenced area. When we arrived at Yellowstone the number of bison we saw just blew my mind!
The largest herds where in Lamar and Hayden Valley, but we literally saw bison everywhere. On the roads, which created a bit of a traffic jam. In the thermal areas, seems they didn’t care about the warning signs telling you not to walk outside of the wooden walkways. Well, to be honest there was numerous tourists ignoring those signs as well risking their life to get that perfect picture.
The bison looks so calm while eating on the grasslands, but every year more people are hurt by bison than bears due to not keeping sufficient distance. These guys are big, but they can run at 30 mph. You are not going outrun them.
Bison usually calf in early spring, so we didn’t have any hopes of seeing those adorable cute orange calves. They keep that reddish-orange colour for 10 weeks and we were visiting in September which should be well past that season. You could say we were very surprised and excited when we actually came across a herd that still had a younger one with the rusty orange colour.
Aren’t these guys impressive? Have you had an exciting bison experience? Share it below, I’d love to hear about it!
They are magnificent animals. Your photos are beautiful.
Thank you so much for your lovely comment Maria! 🙂
Wonderful!
Thank you – very much appreciated!
Beautiful Captures 🙂 I am so glad I took the opportunity to visit Yellowstone. I was there at the end of the Bison Rut and the beginning of the Elk Rut. The elk were pretty elusive, but the Bison made sure to show up and present on my visit. There is nothing better than seeing wildlife in their wild habitats! Love the baby bisons as well as the lone bulls just sitting under a tree just watching the world go by. Thanks so much for sharing – Happy Weekend – Enjoy!
Thank you so much for your truly genuine feedback. Very much appreciated. Yellowstone was a beautiful experience, I am so happy we decided to go. The elk was somewhat elusive for us as well, but as you can see from the photos the bison made up for that! 🙂 I am glad we have both had the pleasure of experience Yellowstone.
Sorry for the late reply btw – we just moved across the Atlantic
Awesome photos of an awesome creature!!
Thanks a ton! They are magnificent creatures for sure:)
They are very beautiful these reasons, I thank you for us make discover.
They are marvelous your photos.
I wish you a nice weekend.
Hervé.
Thank you so much for the lovely comment Hervé!
All the best, Inger
Lovely photos. I do remember that we entered Yellowstone from the Beartooth Highway into the Lamar Valley. The first time we saw the bisons we were totally amazed but then over the week we spent in the park we saw so many of them that they became just another element in the landscape. We also saw grizzly and black bears which was also very amazing. A wonderful park to visit…
Sounds like you too had some amazing experiences in Yellowstone. I’d recommend the park to anyone:) We exited the park via Beartooth, impressive roads, and a bit scary! 🙂
You are totally right that this is one of the most beautiful parks in the US and well worth a visit. The Beartooth Highway is totally amazing. We arrived at Yellowstone from Billings so through this highway; a very impressive way to get into the park…
Never had a bison-experience!
What a strange “face”they have…Commonly one doesn’t notice these details while looking at the whole herd running away, as in a photo or a movie!
Gorgeous post, thanks for this share!
Not always one comes close enough to study a face of an animal, but we sure did with the bison. Thanks a lot for your comment!
Wow, I have seen them in himalayan range, in a national forest in India named ‘ Gorumara national reserve forest ‘ Actually a group was crossing the road and they blocked our car. It was scary, we stopped the engine and prayed they don’t get angry and start playing with our car. Bur they passed almost quietly, except few grunts. I never forget the day
Sounds amazing! We had a couple of those experiences in Yellowstone, but these guys were surprisingly calm. But I am sure they could do a lot of damage should they decide to! Thanks a bunch for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂
Inger, These are stunning photographs and what a wonderful visit – to even see a calf so close by. Amazing. I don’t know why but I’ve always been take by these awesome animals ad would love to see them in real life one day – this has been a joy to read and look at your photos.
Thanks for your lovely comment Annika! I cross my fingers and hope you get to see them one day. The bison is a magnificent creature:)
These are great photos. Is there a difference between a bison and Buffalo?
Thanks for the sweet comment. Too be honest I am not sure if there is a difference, I think people use bison/buffalo for bisons in North America. The buffalo you see in Africa and Asia is a different species as far as I understand.
Yes they are very impressive. years ago I was in Yellowstone. I never forgot they are walking on the way and all the cars has to stop.They walk near my car window, and we look eye in eye.I never forgot that moment.
That feeling when the bison passes your car just meters away is pretty exciting right? Impressive animals!
Yes, we saw them on our recent trip to Yellowstone. It’s impressive how they do not migrate or hibernate and survive the extreme winter.
Absolutely, I would love to go back and experience them during winter. The pictures of bison in the middle of a snow storm is awesome, would love to do that:)
I’ve seen a lot of bison in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Kept my distance because they can be very dangerous and they’ll mess up your car.
Beautiful images.
Yes, I am sure these guys can do a lot of damage if they want to! The bison in Yellowstone was amazingly calm, probably used to all the tourists. Thanks for commenting!
Amazing pictures, thanks for the read.
Thank you for the lovely comment! 🙂
nice text and great pictures!
Thanks a bunch, much appreciated!
Beautiful photos Inger – thanks for sharing them here. <3
Diana xo
Thank you so much Diana, appreciate the sweet comment! 🙂
We had a wild experience with part of the Hayden herd a few years ago, Inger. We were heading north on a foggy morning on the road south of Hayden; a ridge to the west of us and the Yellowstone River to our east…and no one in front of us. Out of the fog, headed straight for us, was a herd of bison…filling the entire road. We stopped and stayed very still until they passed us. Wow!
That sounds like an awesome moment one will not forget! Hayden was lovely, we passed by many times. Always someone spotting for wolves there in the morning. As we observed two grizzlies from a far distance in Hayden. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Wonderful photographs of a beautiful animal! We see them every now and again on our summer trips – the most memorable was in the Black Hills of South Dakota a few years back. Your pictures brought back great memories!
These guys were awesome to photograph, lots of fun. I hear they are bringing the bison back to Banff, not sure if it is this summer already. So I am sure you’ll get to meet them up close;)
Your photos of the bison are excellent! Once a year I visit the national Bison range which is about 30 miles from home and get to see some. There they live in a natural environment on 19,000 acres on which there are also deer, elk, antelope and bear. Amazing animals they are!
The national bison range sound pretty amazing, I would for sure go there as well if I lived somewhat close. These guys makes great portraits! 🙂
Great photos and i am glad that you discussed the dangers of the bison. They are wild and they injure people each year that think they are cute and cuddly. Yellowstone is not a petty zoo but full of “wild” animals that do not recognize man made boundaries. Hope you had a great time. Jim
A very good point Jim. I did not discuss it in this post but I witness some pretty headless situations in Yellowstone. One time people were taking pictures of a grizzly that was heading directly towards them. The grizzly passed about 5 meters away from the visitors without them even consider moving just to get that great photo (any they were not sitting in the car…). Wow! I almost didn’t believe what I witnessed.
First of all, those are beautiful photos.
Yes, I do have a bison story for you. I was hiking in the Wichita mountains in southwestern Oklahoma and nearly stepped on a bison. He was laying under a brown, dead cedar tree and he blended in perfectly. I startled him, he jumped up and I took off running and jumped up on a boulder. He stared me down for a long time, daring me to move from the rock. He looked ready to charge. Eventually, cooler heads prevailed and I was able to move on.
I have seen people get way too close to moose and bison (on purpose). I guess they don’t realize they are wild animals more than capable of killing you.
I always love your stories Jeff, amazing all the situations you are able to end up in:) I am glad all went well in the end between you and the bison. They are somewhat intimidating yes;)
Witnessed lots of people getting way too close in Yellowstone, maybe the calm look of the bison is deceiving. Once these guys are getting annoyed with you, you are definite in trouble if you are too close!
What magnificent creatures and gorgeous photos you’ve taken of them! The landscape picture at the end is beautiful too.
Thank you so much for the lovely comment Jane. They are magnificent for sure – and make great portraits! 🙂
Stunning photos Inger! I didn’t realize how massive bison are. The one on the road looks as though he won’t be moving any time soon!
Thanks Sue! Passing your car just a few meters away these guys look huge! That guy in the middle of the road is doing ‘the Yellowstone pose’ showing who’s the boss. All you can do is wait:)
Such beautiful animals. I got to see them in Montana, many years ago. I remember them well.
Thanks Emilie! They were a spectacular sight. They made an impression on me for sure:)
Wow, Inger. What a FABULOUS photo series. Well done. 🙂
Much appreciated Frank!
Like you, we were amazed at the number of bison in the park. You really captured some great photos that represent what it was really like. I especially like the bison in the thermal area.
Thanks Lyle! I was a bit surprised to see the bison ignoring the thermal areas. You would think they would stay away from the heat or smell – but seems like it is not bothering them at all.
Custer National Park in South Dakota has a large herd of Bison. Each September they have a Buffalo Round Up which I hope to attend next year. Your captures are lovely. I find them somewhat difficult to photograph and turned many of my Bison shots into B & W.
That sounds like a round up you should’t miss Ingrid! It was a bit of a challenge photographing the bison as they are so dark, many of my photos cannot be used – but there were some good ones in between:)
Oh man! Da will ich auch mal hin.
Thanks Frank! You should visit – Yellowstone was amazing! 🙂
They truly are impressive creatures. You’ve some fine images here, Inger, and some good information regarding them as well. I wouldn’t get near them and for good reason…I couldn’t even outrun a sloth. 🙂
Haha…I am sure you would be able to outrun a sloth Steve. But yes – stay a safe distance away from the bison! Thanks for the sweet comment.
When we visited Yellowstone we were so excited about the first bison we spotted. By then end of the trip we had seen so many we were no longer even slowing down to look. I was amazed at the stupidity of some people. We saw families who parked their kids feet away from these beast for the sake of a good photo. They clearly didn’t read the warnings.
I would have to agree with you, after two weeks in Yellowstone the bison was not that exciting anymore:) But the first day when we arrived we stopped to look at every single one…hehe:)
This is very impressive. I can’t believe people get close to them to get better picture. It seems so dangerous !
Thanks! Some people seems to do anything for that perfect picture… 🙂 The bison looks so calm so I can understand that some people underestimate how dangerous they can be.
Yes, you can be easily fooled ! 🙁
Such macho guys! I loved seeing them up close in Yellowstone. 😃
Yes – they must be the definition on masculinity! 🙂
I’ve never seen bisons. But I would like to. 🙂
They are very impressive when you get them up close. Some of them passed our car just a meter away – they are big!! 🙂
They are beautiful.
I agree Ron, they sure made an impression.
that is wonderful 🙂
Thanks Joshi!
Fascinating Bison portraits,stunning macros,dear Inger!Adorable creatures despite their colossal size!You were lucky to see them so close.The calf is so cute and lovable;wonderful scene 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment Doda. Colossal is the right word – these guys made quite the impression on me! 🙂
Your impression of the bison at Yellowstone mirrored mine perfectly…amazing creatures and to see them in such numbers made it easier to think back to the days when the roamed the plains of the West. Your third shot is an iconic buffalo photo – beautiful work Inger.
Thank you so much for your generous comment Randall. I had only seen bison in a larger fenced area in Waterton before. But getting to Yellowstone and seeing hundreds of them was just mind blowing. Felt like I was part of a national geographic show. I feel lucky to have had this experience.
Amazing animal you captured in a splendid environment. Thanks you sharing, your pictures are great ! 😉
Thank you so much – my pleasure sharing these photos. Seeing hundreds of bison on the plains of Yellowstone was pretty amazing:)
Aha! Cousin of our Polish Żubr! We have around 500 of them in Poland. Hiding in the woods! Thanks Inger!
I was not aware you had something called Żubr so I had to google it – and yes, they definitely seem to be related! They look very much alike.
They are ☺ I wrote about them in my Polish posts.
Great captures of those beautiful bison. We have a close up encounter with an herd of bison, not wild but in a ranch in Kansas…here is my post about it
https://lowestravels.com/2015/06/21/oh-give-us-a-home-where-the-buffalo-bison-roam-scott-city-ks/
Thanks for the lovely comment. I will have to go check out you post:)
I sure enjoyed your bison photos here, Inger. Yellowstone is such a rich place, the openness, the mountain ranges, the wildlife; and the bison make this park that much richer.
Thank you so much Jet. Seeing hundreds of bison roam the plains was like being in the middle of a national geographic show – pretty amazing! 🙂
Amazing photos of this magnificent creature. It would have been nice to see all those large herds in Yellowstone! 🙂
Thanks Carl! If you haven’t been yet, Yellowstone is worth a visit:)
These are fantastic photos, Inger.
Thanks Jean, much appreciated!
I didn’t know bisons can run that fast! Not that I was planning to out run them or anything.. 🙂 Amazing photos! The calf is so cute! I am glad you got to see one on your trip.
Thanks for the compliment Jamie, much appreciated! Yes – the bison is much faster than it looks like. Can be a bot deceiving as it looks so calms grazing the plains. The calf was such a cutie, and a bit of a surprise that late in the year:)
This larged kolos can be very dangerous but people forget it and want, on the photo with them.I never has understood this.
I totally agree Marylou! They can look calm while grazing, but can be very fast and very dangerous if you get too close. I read it happens more or less every year that someone is attacked because they get to close.
Love your photos throughout your blog but I had to stop here and comment since we just visited a ranch last month that had a herd of bison just outside of Zion National Park in Utah. What an experience. There were about 50 to 100 and my wife had to feed one an apple. Even though I kept telling her it was dangerous and not a food they would normally eat.
Thanks a bunch for the lovely comment Emilio! Your wife is pretty brave – these guys can be dangerous! 🙂 But maybe the ones at the ranch is a bit more used to close contact with people. Anyways – they are impressive too look at! 🙂