Bison on the move. There was a herd of about 50 - perhaps 10% of the current park population - climbing into the hills near the campground. Interestingly, they formed two long lines; I've never seen that before. Once again last year, a few days after the campground closed in mid-October, the bison returned to occupy this part of the valley. When tourist season is on, it's just too busy for them. Lucky tourists do see bison from time to time, but the off-season really is the best time for viewing these iconic, shaggy beasts.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Plains Bison Bison bison Buffalo wildlife animal mammal ungulate iconic herd on the move winter snow snowy not cold prairie light winter light wild prairie nature Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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I have more luck approaching bison bulls on foot than cows... maybe because they expect to dominate, and therefore are not as fearful of a puny human intruder. Idle speculation; who knows what goes on in their minds...
At any rate, these two Plains Bison paid no attention to me as I slowly moved within photo range and walked the prairie dog town parallel to them for a brief time. Bonus: a Black-billed Magpie flew over and landed on one of them. At the time I didn't notice the other's tongue was out. They lick their noses constantly, removing dust and debris and keeping it moist and receptive to wind-borne information.
The sun was behind them and to the left - three quarter backlighting, but soft enough to keep the contrast under control. It's difficult to believe that those short, dried grasses provide enough sustenance to power such gigantic bodies through a long northern prairie winter, but they do.
Somehow, encountering wildlife on foot and coming away with a good shot is more satisfying than shooting from the rolling red Toyota blind. I will continue to do both, of course, as the situation dictates, but for the next few days I'll be uploading only shots made away from roads, shelter, and safety. To do this successfully, you have to appear innocuous to the critters, and evidently I do.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Plains Bison American Bison Bison bison Buffalo male bull mature two 2 Black-billed Magpie Pica hudsonia bird winter prairie dog town dogtown snow not too cold some winter days are pleasant wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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Continuing my bison series, this was the third of five Plains Bison bulls that were hanging out together just off the main park road. They all know each other, and each has his place in the herd hierarchy. However, there is much jockeying for position and status. This big guy stayed aloof for the most part; perhaps he considered the other four to be underlings.
You can see clearly in this shot the yellow stuff that some found confusing in the previous two images: Crested Wheat Grass. It's an introduced species that provides good early grazing for cows... and probably for bison, too. But it forms dense mats that choke out native vegetation. Parks Canada tried for years to eradicate it from their new acquisition, Grasslands, to no avail. You can burn it, poison it (a dubious strategy), attack it any way imaginable... and it just comes back.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: American Bison Plains Bison Bison bison Buffalo animal mammal ungulate bull male icon iconic powerful majestic dominant winter snow snowy grassland Crested Wheat Grass Agropyron pectiniforme introduced grazing wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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This is what made the big guy in yesterday's photo run: a bigger, dominant bull bison! That's him on the left, raised tail indicating extreme agitation, bounding into the ditch for safety a split second after the confrontation. My next frame - yesterday's shot - came after I refocused and tracked the lesser bull on the run.
During the rut or breeding season between mid-July and mid-August, mature bulls may be found among the main herd, but in the remaining eleven months of the year they hang out together. Here, vying for dominance is ongoing, the testing a constant occurrence. Rewards include getting the best wallows to roll in, and of course being first in line for mating privileges.
You can see the park road on the right, behind the dominant bull. I wasn't far from my car. There were five bull bison present - four in close, the other farther away, and they weren't interested in me at all. Herd dynamics are everything for them.
In the next two days I'll post shots of the other two big bulls that comprised this small "bachelor" group. They were all pretty impressive. I was able to tell them apart mainly by the exfoliation pattern on their horns - the frayed ring that develops on the upper third of their horns at about 8 years of age.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: American Bison Plains Bison Bison bison Buffalo wildlife animal mammal ungulate bull male confrontation dominance white snow snowy winter wintry wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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Continuing my winter wildlife image set, here a Plains Bison explodes across the prairie, snow streaming from its legs and body. I was on foot for this one, although unlike yesterday's shot, not lying down. I wanted the bison to be aware of me so that I wouldn't get accidentally trampled.
What made this big guy run? Tune in tomorrow and find out!
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: American Bison Plains Bison Bison bison Buffalo bull male running snow snowy winter wintry action Wow! wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024 Explored
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