Created 6-Sep-24
44 photos
There is a rule in the snowmobile barn that riders cannot depart for the park until it warms up to at least 20 degrees below zero. Yep! If it is colder than -20 you have to sit and wait for Mother Nature to throw another log on the fire. So, we were a bit later getting on the road than normal. Once we got into the park we found that it had also gotten warm enough for the bison herd to head out and look for breafastlunchdinner. There is so little to eat that the bison are searching for food all day long and the is no space beween the meals.
On a night as cold as the one that had just passed, the bison herd heads to one of the thermal features and spends the night in a steam heated space. The problem is that the steam condenses on the bison's fur, and then freezes as soon as the animals head away from the steam bath to look for food. So the bison herd was headed to a place that we had just passed and we were headed towards a place just past the steam bath. A head on collision was inevitable. Our heads had helmets, but their heads had horns. And they each outweighed us, including snowmobile, by about 1000 pounds, not neccesarily counting the weight of the ice that had frozn to their fur.
If you look at the first image in this gallery you will notice that the snow had obiterated the yellow lines on the road. The bison were confused by this and thought they were on a one way street. One way, their way! We needed to park on the side of the road and hide behind our snowmbiles. None of them seemed to be out to get us, but even a little parking lot bump from one of them could severly rearrange our bodywork. We waited, and smiled, and took some pictures.
Once the herd finds a place to eat, they usually need to clear away a covering of snow to get to the nutritious part. Sadly, the only tool they have available for snow removal is their face. To get to something to eat, they need to bury their face in snow and move their head from side to side. The snow moves, but the grass stays put.
Starting at image number 19 in this gallery, you will see how bison get food in the winter. The experience of seeing these two winter behaviors was so unique I felt it deserved a gallery, and explanation, of it's own.
On a night as cold as the one that had just passed, the bison herd heads to one of the thermal features and spends the night in a steam heated space. The problem is that the steam condenses on the bison's fur, and then freezes as soon as the animals head away from the steam bath to look for food. So the bison herd was headed to a place that we had just passed and we were headed towards a place just past the steam bath. A head on collision was inevitable. Our heads had helmets, but their heads had horns. And they each outweighed us, including snowmobile, by about 1000 pounds, not neccesarily counting the weight of the ice that had frozn to their fur.
If you look at the first image in this gallery you will notice that the snow had obiterated the yellow lines on the road. The bison were confused by this and thought they were on a one way street. One way, their way! We needed to park on the side of the road and hide behind our snowmbiles. None of them seemed to be out to get us, but even a little parking lot bump from one of them could severly rearrange our bodywork. We waited, and smiled, and took some pictures.
Once the herd finds a place to eat, they usually need to clear away a covering of snow to get to the nutritious part. Sadly, the only tool they have available for snow removal is their face. To get to something to eat, they need to bury their face in snow and move their head from side to side. The snow moves, but the grass stays put.
Starting at image number 19 in this gallery, you will see how bison get food in the winter. The experience of seeing these two winter behaviors was so unique I felt it deserved a gallery, and explanation, of it's own.
© Photo by Jim Shane