Yellowstone - bison in national park vacation pictures

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is a beautiful, animal filled national park. The ever popular Old Faithful hot spring is worth seeing go off at different times throughout the day. In the late 1990's the bison population in Yellowstone was about 3,500. Bison are America's most majestic animal and can be seen running, breeding, bellowing, charging one another, rooting, and swimming. They actually approached us within 15 feet of our vehicle. We stopped for a while and watched the bison graze and interact with each other. A bison walked right next to the RV too. They are not tame but are used to people and cars. We stuck our heads out of the window and just watched him walk right by as if we weren't there. The boys and other kids were building forts in the woods at the Yellowstone RV Park when a bull bison walked past them. All the pictures we took of the Yellowstone bison were taken in Hayden Valley. There is plenty of parking alongside the road so that you can get out and take pictures. And if you just coast at 5 mph no sweat, who can resist rubbernecking for these awesome animals.

Adult bison bulls may stand six feet tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 2,000 pounds. Female bison are called cows and also stand six feet but weigh about 1,000 pounds and they have more slender horns. Bison breed from July to August and their calves are born in April and May. Seeing the calves interact with their mother and the herd is exciting but the female bison are extremely protective of their calves. When defending their young the bison can move with surprising speed, up to 30 miles per hour. It is typical to hear that every year some tourists get punctured because they got too close to a bison either trying to take a picture or just being foolish.

Bison are the largest mammal in Yellowstone National Park. Bison are strict vegetarians grazing in the meadows, the foothills, and at high elevations of the forested plateaus. The southern part of the figure eight highway in Yellowstone is where the bison are seen. Hayden Valley along the Yellowstone River is probably the best spot to see the buffalo. Madison, Firehole and Gibbon Rivers are some of the other spots. Some are seen in the Mud Volcano area and Fountain Flats as well as in Lamar Valley.

Yellowstone National Park is kid friendly but beware while visiting in the summer months straying off into the brush or forest more than ¼ mile off established paths and near water. The mosquitoes in this area are large and can cover every square inch of your body within seconds. And, these aren't Florida mosquitoes that drift around lazily and walk away from. These monsters literally chase you and you can't outrun them. Yellowstone is filled with surprises around every corner which makes it the perfect vacation destination.

Visit Yellowstone National Park Wyoming for more information.

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