On a crisp 5 degree Wyoming morning, we arrived well before sunrise, watched a few buffalo trying to graze the frozen ground, before we found this guy & his herd. We watched them for a couple hours and almost watched someone get seriously hurt… here’s the rest of the story.
I’m always mindful & respectful of the animals I’m blessed to watch & photograph, so I keep my distance. If you cause the animals to react to your presence, you are too close.
This morning I arrived & situated myself just outside of my vehicle (both for safety & the occasional warm up needed to thaw out my fingers). I wear fingerless gloves that allow me to cover most fingers except for what is needed to move dials on my camera.
This bison was clearly the leader of his herd, he was not the biggest, however they looked to him for their next move. Watching them reminded me of watching cows back at my ranch, similar body language.
During the time I was there, many other people showed up to watch & photograph. Some respectful of the animals, some not… I was on a side road, with a long lens on my camera, the bison where traveling in a direction that was now blocked by new tourist arrivals. With no vehicle to protect them, they stood between a herd of 100 bison & the area they clearly wanted to go to. Not the wisest decision. As I watched the herd grow increasingly restless, I got nervous for the people standing in the path of travel, do they realize they are in danger?
To be honest, I was irritated with this group of people, clearly stressing out the bison herd. I watched the herd push the leader (they guy I photographed) they wanted to go, they pressed him, he looked around multiple times, but knew his path was blocked. The herd gathered around their leader as if to give him the “we got your back” signal. I felt that he gave me eye contact a few times, as if to say “help, get your people out of our way….” (ok that could just be my emotional heart… but still, it’s what I felt) after some tense moments, a few people started to move out of the way, while a few people stayed in the path of 100 bison!! With the slight movement of people, the bison could contain themselves no longer. With the go ahead from the leader, they started at a trot, which turned into a dead run. The people saw this & ran.
In a few seconds the more than 100 strong bison herd where barreling in on the people who had not left or waited too long. The rest of us watched in horror wondering if we were about to see some people killed or seriously hurt. The people did make it out of the way in time, the bison did get to their desired destination & I did get some beautiful images while respecting & appreciating these beautiful creatures.
This image is named “Teton Royalty” he has been a favorite & graces several homes & spaces. Now if he happens to end up on your wall, you now know, the rest of the story!
Have you ever had a scary encounter with wildlife?
