It was pretty darned cold this past Saturday here on the Colorado Front Range as you can tell. While the Bison didn’t mind, this photographer wasn’t really caring too much for it. 😉 The early morning sun which had just popped over the horizon put some nice light on the lady. More Bison pics here.

Perhaps I forgot to wear deodorant on this morning or, more likely, the males of the herd were smelling things up for the rut. This female cow was among the many being courted by the males last month.

She was actually demonstrating what is called the flehmen response. Many mammals will do this, curling their lips, raising their head and inhaling deeply allowing them to get a better sampling of a particular smell that interests them – kind of like a human taking a big whiff to smell something.

Now isn’t this just a picture perfect couple? This bull and cow were standing away from the rest of the herd, avoiding the pushing and shoving that was taking place during the rut. Both looked resplendent in the early morning light and the fall landscape gives them a nice place to pose.

These massive animals were hunted to the brink of extinction in the 1700s and 1800s with as few as 750 reported by 1890. Their numbers have since rebounded with about 500,000 now living on public and private lands.

It used to be we called these buffalo but that actually was incorrect. While they are part of the same family that includes the European and African buffalo, the Bison is its own, distinct species. It is believed they were called buffalo by early North American explorers due to their resemblance to the Old-World species.

Native Americans call them Tatanka, a Lakota word that translated means “bull buffalo.” In May 2016 the Bison became the official mammal of the United States, a fitting and long overdue honor. Taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado.

You can own your own copy of this image by clicking here.

The Bison bull on the left you might recognize from my posting this morning. With their hormones raging, these two big guys were not playing nice with each other. They pushed each other all over the place including across the road right in front of me.

It was a pretty impressive display and makes you appreciate their sheer power, something you don’t get a feel for when they are calmly grazing. Light was at a premium so I had to use a high ISO and thus the image isn’t as sharp as I would like. Nevertheless, the look on their faces is awesome!

This massive Bison bull bears the battle scars of mating season. A broken horn, blood from his rival. Wow!

It was a pretty wild scene two weeks ago when I came upon the main part of the herd. Multiple battles were going on, some within just feet of my truck. This guy is the big man on campus and he did not appreciate being challenged by an upstart. The pair went at it for a good while, head to head, body blows, shoving each other across the grassland.

At one point, this guy broke a piece of his horn off but that didn’t prevent what was left from doing damage to the competitor and drawing blood. Awesome! Once the action died down, he came over and seemed to want a picture taken to show his scars. I obliged.

Kind of a fun scene to come across at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado recently. Two American Bison bulls were having a bit of a disagreement and got into a tussle. Given that each of these guys weighs more than 1,000 pounds, it probably would not be wise to get between them and try to break it up. 😉

These massive animals were hunted to the brink of extinction in the 1700s and 1800s with as few as 750 reported by 1890. Their numbers have since rebounded with about 500,000 now living on public and private lands.

It is National Bison Day so I sure can’t let that go by without notice. This image was taken last weekend and is one I absolutely love. This massive Bison bull was hanging out alone on the Great Plains. In the distance, the snow-capped Rocky Mountains.

These massive animals were hunted to the brink of extinction in the 1700s and 1800s with as few as 750 reported by 1890. Their numbers have since rebounded with about 500,000 now living on public and private lands.

It used to be we called these buffalo but that actually was incorrect. While they are part of the same family that includes the European and African buffalo, the Bison is its own, distinct species. It is believed they were called buffalo by early North American explorers due to their resemblance to the Old-World species. Native Americans call them Tatanka, a Lakota word that translated means “bull buffalo.”

In May 2016 the Bison became the official mammal of the United States, a fitting and long overdue honor.

Taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado.

Kind of an odd morning of weather this past Saturday. On the first round around the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado, the skies were clear and it was gorgeous. On the second round, a very thick fog had rolled in making for some interesting shots, including this out. The massive bull was only 40 feet away but the fog made it impossible to get any detail out of the pictures thus creating a cool silhouette.

These impressive animals were hunted to the brink of extinction in the 1700s and 1800s with as few as 750 reported by 1890. Their numbers have since rebounded with about 500,000 now living on public and private lands. In May 2016 the Bison became the official mammal of the United States, a fitting and long overdue honor.

Someone suggested the title, “Spirit Bison” for this image and that seems fitting.

This little one was a bundle of energy and joy as it bounded along the shores of the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park this past spring. And, no wonder! It and three other little ones had just survived a rather harrowing and dramatic crossing of the fast-moving river. Honestly it was a break taking scene that I will never forget.

You can read the whole story and view the entire sequence of images here.

While they are part of the same family that includes the European and African buffalo, the Bison is its own, distinct species. It is believed they were called buffalo by early North American explorers due to their resemblance to the Old-World species. Native Americans call them Tatanka, a Lakota word that translated means “bull buffalo.”