When I retired, I gave myself the present of seven weeks in Europe. When I came back I knew I wanted to travel the West some so I thought that working a seasonal job at the places I wanted to see would be ideal. I wanted to capture some fantastic photographs is why I choose this place, Custer State Park.
I put out a video of a Bison herd, on my Facebook page, that people really, really liked. I was shocked that it got so many views and went to several countries. The day I took that video, I also took some really nice close up pictures as I observed the herd. Now, let me clear up something. There is a difference between a Buffalo and a Bison. But, here the names are used interchangeably. Bison have a hump and beard. Their head is also very large. Bison roam North and South America. Buffalo, on the other hand, have small head much like cow. They have no hump and no beard. There are no Buffalo that roam in America. Buffalo are found in Africa and South Asia.
Now that is cleared up, I’m writing this blog because seeing a bison in person is very different than seeing a picture of Bison. They are massive beast and on the angry side. They are very agile and can run around 45 mph. I have seen them jump over fences. In the past two months they have had a lot of babies so the moma’s are extra aggressive right now.
At one time, the Bison were almost extinct here. I am just going to use the information that is on the wall at the State Game Lodge. There is no information on who the author is. Seeing these creatures up close is really a treat. They are really magnificent beast. So here is the direct quote.
“James “Scotty” Philip is often referred to as The Buffalo King. His efforts, in conjunction with those of Fred Dupree and others, helped save an iconic species from extinction in the early 1900’s. Thirty-six head of bison purchased from Philip’s estate stocked Custer State Park in 1914 and founded a herd that has since been used to stock bison on private lands in nearly every state.”
So, there is an event called The Buffalo Roundup every September. Yes, yes, I know they are bison. The Governor attends every year. All the bison in the park are rounded up by jeep and wranglers and pushed to the Bison Center where their health is checked and the herd is branded and counted. Custer State Park can comfortably maintain close to 1000 bison in the park.
