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This helps me understand more of the context in what happened that day I was there. I can use this when talking about my own experience of this day and seeing the rangers, ambulances, and police showing up to the scene. One question that this made me think about is why not my family? We were there just a few moments prior. This is my first source but these will all connect to other cases.

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A bull bison gored a man near Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park | CNN

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A Colorado man required medical treatment at a hospital after he was gored by a bull bison at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, officials said.

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This helps me understand how these large animals function and why they are here. I can use this when discussing why these are WILD animals and not zoo animals. I did want to know why people do not understand why these are WILD animals. This will be a great source and giving some context into the sheer wildness of these animals.

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Yellowstone Bison: Conserving an American Icon in Modern Society

Edited by P.J. White, Rick L. Wallen, and David E. Hallac

This book examines the history of bison conservation and management in the United States, compiles the latest scientific information about Yellowstone bison, and discusses both the opportunities for and challenges to plains bison conservation within the Greater Yellowstone Area and across their historic range.

The authors outline the multi-jurisdictional partnerships tasked with successful bison management and offer a candid assessment for moving forward with bison conservation. The book is important not only for the information it provides, but for the framework it creates for engendering strong, diverse-stakeholder conservation partnerships in modern society.

Published by Yellowstone Forever (formerly Yellowstone Association).

Download a copy (4.6 MB PDF)
Purchase a copy (via Yellowstone Forever)

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Duration:

6 minutes, 55 seconds

Yellowstone is the only place in the United States where bison (Bison bison) have lived continuously since prehistoric times. Yellowstone bison are exceptional because they comprise the nation's largest bison population on public land. Unlike most other herds, this population has thousands of individuals that are allowed to roam relatively freely over the expansive landscape of Yellowstone National Park and some nearby areas of Montana. They also exhibit wild behavior like their ancient ancestors, congregating during the breeding season to compete for mates, as well as migration and exploration that result in the use of new habitat areas. These behaviors have enabled the successful restoration of a population that was on the brink of extinction just over a century ago.

However, some Yellowstone bison are infected with brucellosis, a livestock disease that can be transmitted to wild bison and elk as well as to cattle through contact with infected fetal tissue. To prevent conflicts with ranching and other activities outside the park, the National Park Service (NPS) works with other federal, state, and tribal agencies to manage and develop policies for bison access to habitat in Montana. Conservation of wild bison is one of the most complex of Yellowstone's resource issues. All of the interested parties bring their own wide-ranging values and objectives to the debate.

Number in Yellowstone

Around 5,900 bison counted in summer 2022. This includes two primary breeding herds: northern (~4,460) and central (~1,360).

Where to See

Year-round: Hayden and Lamar valleys.

Summer: grasslands.

Winter: hydrothermal areas and along the Madison River. Blacktail Deer Plateau, Tower, and the Gardiner Basin.

Size and Behavior

Male (bull) weighs up to 2,000 pounds, female (cow) weighs up to 1,000 pounds.

May live 12-15 years, a few live as long as 20 years.

Feed primarily on grasses and sedges.

Mate in late July through August; give birth to one calf in late April or May.

Can be aggressive, are agile, and can run up to 30 miles per hour.

History

Yellowstone is the only place in the lower 48 states to have a continuously free-ranging bison population since prehistoric times.

In the 1800s, market hunting and the US Army nearly caused the extinction of the bison.

By 1902, poachers reduced Yellowstone's herd to about two dozen animals.

The US Army, who administered Yellowstone at the beginning of the 20th century, protected these bison from further poaching.

Bison from private herds were used to establish a herd in northern Yellowstone.

For decades, bison numbers were reduced due to belief that they, along with elk and pronghorn, were over-grazing the park.

By 1968, herd reductions of bison ceased.

Reductions began again in the 2000s due to increasing numbers and litigation about migration into Montana.

Bull bison bellow during rutting season to display their dominance.
NPS / Jim Peaco

Description

Bison are the largest land-dwelling mammal in North America. Males (2,000 lbs/900 kg) are larger than females (1,100 lbs/500 kg) and both are generally dark chocolate-brown in color, with long hair on their forelegs, head, and shoulders, but short, dense hair (1 in/3 cm) on their flanks and hindquarters. Calves of the year are born after 9 to 9-½ months of gestation. They are reddish-tan at birth and begin turning brown after 2-½ months. Both sexes have relatively short horns that curve upward, with male's averaging slightly longer than those of adult females.

All bison have a protruding shoulder hump. Large shoulder and neck muscles allow bison to swing their heads from side-to-side to clear snow from foraging patches, unlike other ungulates that scrape snow away with their front feet. Bison are agile, strong swimmers, and can run 35 miles per hour (55 kph). They can jump over objects about 5 feet (1.5 m) high and have excellent hearing, vision, and sense of smell.

Behavior

Bison are mostly active during the day and at dusk, but may be active through the night. They are social animals that often form herds, which appear to be directed by older females. Group sizes average about 20 bison during winter, but increase in summer to an average of about 200, with a maximum of about 1,000 during the breeding season (known as the rut) in July and August. Bison are sexually mature at age two. Although female bison may breed at these younger ages, older males (>7 years) participate in most of the breeding.

During the rut mature males display their dominance by bellowing, wallowing, and engaging in fights with other bulls. The winners earn the right to mate with receptive females. Once a bull has found a female who is close to estrus, he will stay by her side until she is ready to mate. Then he moves on to another female. Following courtship, mature males separate and spend the rest of the year alone or in small groups. Group sizes decrease through autumn and into winter, reaching their lowest level of the year during March and April.

Diet

Yellowstone bison feed primarily on grasses, sedges, and other grass-like plants (more than 90% of their diets) in open grassland and meadow communities throughout the year. They also eat forbs (weeds and herbaceous, broad-leafed plants) and browse (the leaves, stems, and twigs of woody plants) through the year, but those usually comprise less than 5% of the diet. They typically forage for 9 to 11 hours daily. Bison are ruminants with a multiple-chambered stomach that includes microorganisms such as bacteria and protozoa to enable them to effectively digest plant material. Bison alternate between eating and ruminating, which is regurgitating partially digested food and chewing it again, to allow microorganisms to further break down plant material into volatile fatty acids and other compounds. Their large digestive tract allows them to digest lower quality foods with greater efficiency than other ungulates such as cattle, deer, or elk.

Interaction with Other Wildlife

Wolves and grizzly bears are the only large predators of adult bison. Dead bison provide an important source of food for scavengers and other carnivores. Bison will rub against trees, rocks, or in dirt wallows in an attempt to get rid of insect pests. Birds such as the magpie perch on a bison to feed on insects in its coat. The cowbird will also follow close behind a bison, feeding on insects disturbed by its steps.

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Duration:

3 minutes, 35 seconds

What is the difference between a bison and a buffalo?

In North America, both "bison" and "buffalo" refer to the American bison ( Bison bison). Generally, "buffalo" is used informally; "bison" is preferred for more formal or scientific purposes. Early European explorers called this animal by many names. Historians believe that the term "buffalo" grew from the French word for beef, "boeuf." Some people insist that the term "buffalo" is incorrect because the "true" buffalo exist on other continents and are only distant relatives.

The seasonal distribution of Yellowstone bison is shown here in comparison with the Interagency Bison Management Plan management areas.
Adapted from Atlas of Yellowstone, Second Edition. ©2022 University of Oregon

Migration

Most other ungulates of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem follow the "green wave" of sprouting plants and grasses during spring because young plants are highly nutritious. Bison begin spring by leaving winter ranges in sync with the green wave but let it pass them by as they migrate and graze, not reaching summer ranges until weeks after green-up. Bison can move out-of-sync with forage green-up because they engineer the ecosystem. Rather than just moving to find the best foods, bison create high-quality foods by how they move and graze. When bison let the green wave pass them by, they spend their time returning to graze the same areas repeatedly at high intensity. The behavior keeps plants growing, although the plants never appear more than a few inches tall, and allows bison to keep getting highly nutritious foods. In winter, bison will move from their summer ranges to lower elevation as snow accumulates and dense snowpack develops. Bison migrate up to 70 miles between summer and winter ranges. Most animals travel about 1,000 miles over the course of the year by repeatedly leaving and returning to the same areas. This means bison travel a greater distance than any other ungulate in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Habitat

Yellowstone bison historically occupied approximately 7,720 square miles (20,000 km2) in the headwaters of the Yellowstone and Madison rivers. Today, this range is primarily restricted to Yellowstone National Park and some adjacent areas of Montana. The bison population lives and breeds in the central and northern regions of the park. The northern breeding herd congregates in the Lamar Valley and on adjacent plateaus for the breeding season. During the remainder of the year, these bison use grasslands, wet meadows, and sage-steppe habitats in the Yellowstone River drainage, which extends 62 miles (100 km) between Cooke City and the Paradise Valley north of Gardiner, Montana. The northern range is drier and warmer than the rest of the park, and generally has shallower snow than in the interior of the park.

The central breeding herd occupies the central plateau of the park, from the Pelican and Hayden valleys with a maximum elevation of 7,875 feet (2,400 m) in the east to the lower-elevation and thermally- influenced Madison headwaters area in the west. Winters are often severe, with deep snows and temperatures reaching -44°F (-42°C). This area contains a high proportion of moist meadows composed of grasses, sedges, and willows, with upland grasses in drier areas. Bison from the central herd congregate in the Hayden Valley for breeding. Most of these bison move among the Madison, Firehole, Hayden, and Pelican valleys during the rest of the year. However, increasing numbers of bison are travelling to the northern portion of the park and mixing with the northern herd. Some of these bison do not return to the Hayden Valley for the subsequent breeding season, and instead breed and rear young on their new range.

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Duration:

2 minutes, 52 seconds

Conservation

Yellowstone has played a key role in the conservation of wild bison in North America. If fact, we've been so successful that we now face the challenge of helping to manage a rapidly growing population of migratory bison that frequently roam beyond our borders onto private land and land managed by other agencies. Read more about the history of bison management and the challenges of maintaining a wild, migratory population of bison in a modern landscape.

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Yellowstone Bison - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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Yellowstone is the only place in the United States where bison (Bison bison) have lived continuously since prehistoric times.

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Wonderful data for my research! This helps me analyze all the factors that go into bison maulings. I can use this when talking about how close is too close and why the injuries are bad. I want to know more as to why bison get triggered by proximity. This is a wonderful source that can cross over into support for my data lead claims.

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Notes from the Field: Injuries Associated with Bison Encounters — Yellowstone National Park, 2015 | MMWR

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Failure to maintain recommended distance from bison results in injuries.

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It is Bison not Buffalo! I have known this for as long as I can remember and I feel the NEED to educate! This will help me set the record straight at the beginning of my essay. I want to use a little bit of humor while also hashing out one of my biggest pet peeves. This can draw the question of what other animals are we saying wrong I.e. Wapiti as Elk. This source will be the gateway into all of my others and the beginning of the essay.

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You Say Buffalo, I Say Bison. What’s the difference?

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If you asked our Wildlife Expeditions guides what the #1 question they get asked is, you’d probably hear something along the lines of this: “What is the difference between a buffalo and a bison?” Ask them the answer,…

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This is an extra piece I want to throw in because of how disturbing wildlife can cost its own life. This helps me understand why some people touch bison and wildlife. I can use this when trying to look into the mind of TOURONS aka Tourist Morons. One question I have is why bison herds do not take back the touched animals? This is a great source that will help give understanding to the others.

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UPDATE: Hawaii man pleads guilty to intentionally disturbing wildlife in Yellowstone National Park - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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~What are the most common reasons visitors end up getting too close to bison, despite the park’s safety rules?

~Have you noticed any trends in recent years such as social media or increased tourism—that contribute to bison-related incidents?

~What kinds of safety education or warnings are provided to visitors, and which do you think are the most effective?

~When an incident like a bison mauling occurs, what actions does the park take immediately afterward, both for the visitor and the animal?

~If you could implement one new policy or tool to reduce bison encounters, what would it be and why?

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Field Research

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Once I was talking to a Yellowstone National Park Ranger who spoke about when once a visitor asked in all seriousness "So, when do you guys lock up the animals for the night?"

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There has been an issue with people in National Parks petting bison and getting all too close. There needs to be a change! In recent years, there have been an uptick in bison maulings in Yellowstone National Park. I want to dive deep into why this idea of petting and interacting with wildlife is not only dangerous to humans but also why it is so incredibly dangerous for animals.

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I have emailed 3 different people related to Yellowstone National Park. I sent the emails on 5/1 as I was sick the whole week. I am waiting for responses but if an interviewee does not respond, I have a back up plan. I will go ahead this weekend and get said interview to be ahead of the game. It might not be the one I want but it will be what I'll get.