Nighttime Bison Jam

Yellowstone National Park is renowned for its wildlife encounters. This one occurred as we were driving between Madison and West Yellowstone, MT for the night. A grizzly bear had spooked a herd of bison and the bison ended up running up on to the road because it was the fast route away from mortal danger. Since these two videos were taken at night, I've included a link to a third video taken by someone else in the park showing what it's like to be stuck in a bison jam during the day.





I've stripped the sound from the two videos so you can focus on the visuals. The videos were shot using Mrs. Lawhawk's Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 point and shoot digital camera, which has HD video capabilities.

When Bison Attack

There's a reason that people are warned to stay at least 100 feet away from wild animals like bison, elk, and 300 feet or more from bears in Yellowstone and other national parks.

They can attack without warning.

And this tourist found out the hard way that it's not a good idea to get that close to a bison. Bison can run up to 30 mph and can weigh more than a ton. That's a whole lot of animal rushing towards you.

Returning From the Wilds

For those few readers sticking around for the past week, you may have been wondering why I haven't posted. Well, there's a simple explanation. I was too busy being on vacation to post.

And what a vacation it was. We went to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and boy was it an amazing time. Mrs. Lawhawk and I ended up taking more than 2,000 photos of the wildlife and landscapes in and around the national parks so I'll have plenty of opportunities to share them in coming months. Yet, the photos don't do it any justice, but here's just a tip of the iceberg.

That's one of two grizzly bears we saw in the park as taken from about 100 yards. This one was feasting on a bison that was killed sometime earlier near Tower Junction in Yellowstone. Dozens of people were watching from along the road and I managed to catch this shot. Other wildlife we saw and photographed include bison, elk, bald eagles, a gray wolf in a Mexican standoff with an elk, marmots, osprey, pelicans, and even a couple of moose.

Bald Eagles Making Comeback in New Jersey

There are now 84 nesting pairs of bald eagles in New Jersey, which is a significant achievement since the bald eagle was on the endangered species list for years. There are supposedly several pairs in Bergen County, but have never come across them in the vicinity of the Hackensack River. They're known to have nesting sites near the Riverside Square Mall.

Bald Eagles are making a comeback in New Jersey

Photo of the Day

 

Bison on the plains within Custer State Park, South Dakota, taken using my Canon Rebel XTi with the Tamron 28-300mm XR Di VC (image stabilizer).

Photo of the Day

 

Pronghorn antelope in Custer State Park, taken October 2009 using my Canon Rebel XTi with the Tamron 28-300mm XR Di VC (image stabilizer).