Bison March - In Mono

Stories of massive meandering bison herds throughout the North American continent were common place as pioneering parties like Lewis and Clarke forged new territory. What bison don't do, however, is migrate south to warmer weather as winter approaches. Instead, they will migrate to lower elevations where mitigated snow depths make it easier to plow snow with their massive heads, aided by the large muscle structure in their hump, to reach the grass and forage needed to survive. As Yellowstone's harsh winter begins to grip ever tighter, it is the dominant female bison that takes the lead to move the herd to these new, lower elevation feeding areas. In this image the cow bison is leading two bulls, and a host of stragglers, as they make their way from the deep interior winter of Yellowstone's Hayden Valley to the more forgiving valleys of the Madison River plateau and the geyser laden springs found in the Firehole river corridor.

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Filename: YNP-8880-MarchingBison.jpg
Copyright: © 2021 Robert P Dotson
Image Size: 5333x3256 / 5.7MB; National Parks & Monuments North America Rocky Mountains Things United States Wyoming Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park animal animals art big game bison black and white buffalo geography harsh mammal mammals monochrome natural nature photograph photography picture places seasons snow style survival weather west wildlife winter
Contained in galleries: Fine Art Wildlife

Stories of massive meandering bison herds throughout the North American continent were common place as pioneering parties like Lewis and Clarke forged new territory. What bison don't do, however, is migrate south to warmer weather as winter approaches. Instead, they will migrate to lower elevations where mitigated snow depths make it easier to plow snow with their massive heads, aided by the large muscle structure in their hump, to reach the grass and forage needed to survive. As Yellowstone's harsh winter begins to grip ever tighter, it is the dominant female bison that takes the lead to move the herd to these new, lower elevation feeding areas. In this image the cow bison is leading two bulls, and a host of stragglers, as they make their way from the deep interior winter of Yellowstone's Hayden Valley to the more forgiving valleys of the Madison River plateau and the geyser laden springs found in the Firehole river corridor.