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Winter Wonderland - Bison - Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park
This young bison bull strayed from the rest of the herd in search for new grass to graze. The bison do nothing but eat grass buried deep beneath the snow all winter long. They get to the grass by using their massive head and neck muscles back and forth to dig through the snow.
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds. Their range once roughly comprised a triangle between the Great Bear Lake in Canada's far northwest, south to the Mexican states of Durango and Nuevo León, and east along the western boundary of the Appalachian Mountains. Because of commercial hunting and slaughter in the 19th century, the bison nearly went extinct and is today.. more
comments (8)
According to my screen, your white balance looks spot on, I know it is difficult to photograph snow, so well done! Posted 8 years ago
I love it, and them. I see your camera lens focus was at 200 mm - that is rather close. You must have been ambushing them !!!
A fantastic shot. Superb. Iconic. Posted 7 years ago
2) The move Dances with Wolves is a true American classic and one of my favorite movies. I would have loved to have lived in that era to see what the country looked like before the frontier was permanently lost.
And 3) I'm not sure what you have heard of bison, but they are rather calm and docile animals (outside the rut or mating season). Although these are wild animals, they get very used to seeing tourists being in Yellowstone National Park and are very easily photographed when a person is calm and quiet.
Thanks again! Posted 7 years ago
American Buffalo - that is what got me so intrigued. Our buffalo will kill you without hesitation if you approach too close (like a 200 mm shot). They will disembowel you and stamp you to death. And then some more.
But now that you mention it, I have seen the same "adapted" behavior in our parks. I saw an Elephant herd walk past a vehicle at a distance of 8 odd meters in Etosha National Park. That is not normal, but adapted behavior in a learned environment.
Well, when I see Bison for the first time, I am sure I am going to be a bit skeptical (intimidated).
No matter what, I love the shot. Black on White is brilliant, the tree line, sloping hill, shadows on the snow, the stare of a hungry snow-faced bison ... they are all perfect and draw the eye to all over the picture ... which shows a wonderful composition and effective photography technique.
Again, to sum up this photo - ICONIC Posted 7 years ago