I can honestly say that our inaugural trip to photograph the American Bison in Yellowstone National Park during their breeding season did not disappoint! From our first evening venture into the park through our final morning, the sounds, sights, and behavior were nonstop.
We were out at first light each morning, took a mid-day break, and then headed back out in the evenings, staying until we could shoot no more. Every outing brought new opportunities to witness and photograph these incredible animals in one of the most intense and fascinating periods of their lives.
Having five full days to witness things unfold was key to capturing the diversity of what was happening. Getting a feel for the rhythm of their daily activity helped us anticipate when and where the most dynamic behavior would happen. It was also valuable to simply park, wait and watch. When you have the time to quietly observe, you begin to see the subtlety of their interactions. You begin to see relationships between individuals. You begin to notice bulls actively protecting the young even if there is no way to know if the calf is theirs. You see last year’s calves still traveling with mom and interacting with her new calf of the year. It is truly a fascinating time to get to know America’s national mammal and helps us capture more of their story through images and video.
We saw little red calves still nursing while massive bulls were tending their mothers. The poor little guys didn’t know what in the world was happening! The bulls were bellowing all around, filling the air with so much sound and keeping the females from wandering more than ten feet away. The bulls would lie down in a dust pit and aggressively roll back and forth, kicking up clouds of dust – but not without urinating in it first. That way, their “cologne” sticks well for the ladies!! They would also tip their heads back and curl their upper lips up in a behavior called flehmening which helps them detect pheromones associated with ovulation.
We did not, however, see any females that seemed to be quite “in the mood” yet. Some of this was also evident in the way a big bull could come out of nowhere and simply push an attending male off with nary a scuffle. As the week progressed, we started seeing more intense interactions between the males, including some full-on fighting now and again.
After several days of focusing completely on bison, we chose to make a foray south to explore the Hayden Valley and area around Fishing Bridge. We were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise and the opportunity to capture some of the other denizens of the Yellowstone ecosystem.
We were fortunate to find a beautiful bull elk not far from the road, providing some excellent photographic opportunities. He was in prime condition with his impressive antlers still fully covered in velvet. Farther along, we encountered a few mule deer bucks looking particularly handsome as well. Then, on our way back to the hotel, we came across a group of six male pronghorn showing off on a hillside just above the road. All of these fellows were gearing up for breeding seasons of their own a little later in the year.
All in all, this was a tremendously successful trip into Yellowstone. In addition to the charismatic large mammals we encountered, we had plenty of opportunities to capture images that complemented the overall story of our time in the park. We stopped at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to snag a classic shot of the lower falls and the colorful canyon carved by the river over countless years. We also had fun photographing a family of marmots and grabbed a few shots of their smaller cousins, the Uinta ground squirrels. We found a few wildflowers still blooming in the higher elevations and we captured the vast open Lamar Valley at sunrise. And while it was a bit too far away for quality still images, we were fortunate enough to capture some fantastic video of the Junction Butte wolf pack testing a group of bison—a fitting and exciting way to cap off an already incredible Yellowstone experience.
