Bison hug - a photo on Flickriver

Bison hug

            What a blessing it was to be at Custer State Park when the female bison returned to herd up with this year’s calves. For the first two days at Custer, we didn’t see any newborns. On day three I think we saw between 5-7. On day four…hundreds! Baby bison are often called “Red Dogs” as they do not start to change their color to dark brown for the first few months.

As a dozen or so licked the dust from around my car, I was able to relax…alone for as far as the eye can see, and photograph the rest of the herd around me. It was so cool to be so close and have 1000-pound wild animals, seemingly totally relaxed, acting as if I were not there. When they started to nurse the calves all around me, I knew that I had been accepted as not being a threat…or for letting them lick my car and not freaking out when one dented it with a horn!

Several of my favorite photos from this trip were taken within this hour-long experience as the gentle, loving nature of these magnificent creatures was on full display. 

I guess that any pure, natural, loving interaction between parent-child by design, touches our soul.

Taken on: June 17, 2023

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