
When you head out west in the United States, you will see bison. My first time seeing them was actually in Yellowstone. This image however was taken at the Badlands. My first stop at the Badlands, they were hiding. Well, more specifically, I didn’t know where in the park to look. That goes along with yesterday’s post about doing research. On my first solo trip, I was sure to find out where they liked to graze, and I found lots. BTW, your best starting place is on the western side of the Badlands, near Robert’s Prairie Dog Town. I won’t bore you with the symbiotic relationship those two drastically different animals have. It’s actually kind of fascinating.
These are big creatures. I’ll admit, I was closer than I was expecting to be several times. Partially because of where the road went, and partially because they go where they want to go. With that being said, I was always aware of where they were, and had a way to get out of their way easily in case they decided they didn’t like my presence. Though, I can assure you that I am not one of the “tourons” that you see in the videos and stories from Yellowstone. I kept a decent distance. Though, this show was only using my 70-200 and apparently only at around 120mm. To be fair though it was on an APS-C sensor camera so technically it was closer to 200mm, which is still kinda close.
Moral of the story, don’t be an idiot. Keep your distance. Respect the wildlife. One of the bison started huffing at me, even though he is the one that came towards me. I got the message though and quickly got in my car to drive away. I’m not going to take any chances.