Bison or Buffalo? – Antelope Island, Utah

Getting myself in more trouble in Antelope Island but loving every minute.

On my first day in Salt Lake City, I ventured to Antelope Island. After surviving the horror (drama much?) of the mosquitos, I continued driving around the Island. 

The ranger informed me that if I went on the direction of the historical Fielding Carr Ranch, I might  see some bison. On my drive, I called my husband to report my excitement. On our conversation, the question came up: bison or buffalo?  So I had a quick look at the paperwork from the ranger and voilá! all explained. In summary, the buffalo are from Asia and Africa, and the Bison is from the Americas. They share some features but they are not the same; for example, the bison has the hump on the neck while the buffalo doesn’t.  

 So continuing on the road, I thought I saw one bison near a house on a mountain. I thought that it was the typical picture, the bison, the green pasture and the snowcap mountains on the back. I gotta say I was thrilled to take this shot.

But I did fell duped. One little bison only? Isn’t the herd in Antelope Island one of the largest in the United States? Wasn’t long before my disappointment dissipated. Turning a bend on the road,  there they were!  Hundreds of them! And since it was spring, little baby bisons as well. 

A few cars were parked on the shoulder of the road watching them, so I passed them and went to observe on the other side of the herd. They were eating and migrating from the water’s edge to the top of the hill. I calculated that they would be able to pass between the cars. 

I got out of the car, but kept the vehicle between the animals and me. Like it or not, they are wild animals and being careful is never a wrong decision. I started photographing them until I saw something different moving. On the middle of the tall grass this coyote came sneaking and checking the herd and its calves… it would walk and stop. Then the coyote notices one alone at the bottom of the hill and stops to observe.Suddenly, from behind a tree, a mama bison comes out, and I think the coyote decided to find another target since it disappeared on the tall grass.

The herd kept moving up the hill, and I think since on my side there were only 2 cars and on the other side there were 5,  they kind of decided to move closer to me. They surrounded me, at this point, I was seating inside, jealous of the guy behind me who had a solar roof, so he kept shooting. I was a bit concerned in case they could smell my Epic Bar Bison and Cranberry flavour, hahaha. They took a good 30min to cross the road and be a safe distance before I could drive again. By what I noticed was that bisons don’t hurry.

At this point, the light was getting low, and I was up since 4am EST (2am MT) and it was 8pm MT I thought was time to head back to the hotel and crash. 

A few interesting facts if you plan to photograph bisons.

How many wild bison are there in the US?

In the 1890s the bisons  population in the USA was estimated around 1.000 heads, coming close to extinction. Prior the community was of between 300.000-500.000. Today on the wild there are around 5.000 but around 50.000 in farming.

How far can a bison run?

Well, I can assure you they can easily outrun you. Bisons  are as fast as a horse reaching  the speed of 60km/h. And with an average weight of 800kg, you sure don’t want to test the theory.

Are bisons dangerous to humans?

The bisons look tame, eating their grass and not really worried with the world. You would think bisons are just a fluffy cow, but the bison is considered more dangerous than a bear in the wild. 

“According to a 2000 study, Yellowstone’s bisons are actually more dangerous than its bears. The study found that bisons had charged people 81 times over 22 years, killing two. The park’s grizzly bears, meanwhile had injured 30 and killed two,” the AP reported.

So be careful around any wild animal. Wait until I tell you my mustang experience…