Yellowstone National Park - MADISON RIVER VALLEY

Day 1:

It is a clear early summer morning and the river is shimmering under the cloudless sky. The fresh growth of new vegetation is still more yellow than green but things are happening fast at the high elevations of Yellowstone.

Madison River

The Madison River is formed at the junction of the Gibbon and Firehole rivers, hence Madison Junction. The Madison joins the Jefferson and the Gallatin rivers at Three Forks, Montana, to form the Missouri River. The Madison is a blue-ribbon fly fishing stream with healthy stocks of brown and rainbow trout and mountain whitefish.

 http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/nmadison.htm

The river is famous for its  fly fishing and the signs confirm that. This used to be a Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi.) domain but in 1930`s someone decided to introduce other trout species  (such as rainbow, brook and brown and things started to change.  The cutthoats had to compete for food and survival with species perhaps more aggressive in an environment of cold, pristine waters that do not produce much food. It is now a species of concern.



A curious ground squirrel came out of hibernation not too long ago and now it is upgrading its residence. Spring cleaning and reno .... no time to fool about.


Apparently this is Uinta Ground Squirrel, Urocitellus armatus or according to other sources Spermophillus armatus (just in case that you want to translate this into another language). Though busy in summer, it spends most of its life snoring in an undergound burrow, which is exactly the same what we are inclined to do in winter months. So, here in Yellowstone, it has only 3-4 months of fooling above the ground. That includes the above mentioned renos, finding a mate and producing a litter of half a dozen offspring. And that does not include all the dodging and fooling the enemies - from birds to mammals who also need to feed their young. No wonder they sleep so long!




It is about 8:30 am when one of us exclaims: Bison!!!!!!!

There is a small bison herd near the woods by the bend of Madison River; it is far away from the road. Nevertheless we jump out of the vehicle, tripods, lenses and all and try.

It si a mixed herd of cows, new babies and young bulls. Their coats are shaggy, the patches of winter fur still hanging loosely on a shiny dark-brown summer coat that is starting to show underneath. The babies must have been born only recently, for about 3 weeks ago there was still snow here in Yellowstone.
One baby per mother, born roughly at the time of the year when the grasses sprout from the thawing ground. Like all the ungulates they walk and run -soon after their birth. And like all the young, they run and jump and enjoy just being alive. Such a pleasure to watch.

We are also noticing a couple of bulls making advances at the cows. Has the mating season begun?
The bison mating season starts in lat June and can last until August or even September.
It is only June 8th but who are we to tell? It never hurts to try.

A bull curls up his upper lip, exposing a chemical testing tissue underneath it. If the cow is in heat he will detect the smell of hormones in her urine. He will seclude her from the rest and guard - in case a rival has the same idea, there will be a bison ritual show off and possibly a fight.

The herd has taken off, disappearing in the woods, leaving us at the edge of the highway still admiring Nature at its morning splendor. There is an amazing basalt rock to ponder; it had been lifted from the underworld a very long time ago. Being so hard it keeps on resisting the grinding forces of erosion ....the sparkling river ....

...... a mighty yell disrupts our contemplation:

Run!!!!!!

Into the car!!!!

The bison are coming!!!

Nel, already stationed behind the wheel could see what Judy and I could not. The rising dust and the herd taking over the highway and advancing FAST.
Tripods are cumbersome and always in the way - they take up time to dismantle, their only advantage being ....well, you know ... sharpness and all that.

With major effort we managed in a nick of time; the last bang of the door is still echoing in our ears when the herd is upon us! Like the creatures of Jurassic Park, only inches away,  they are streaming by our rolled-up windowsl
The initial fear is giving to curiosity (the fact that they are deviating from the road onto the meadows helping a great deal). From the slivers of the car window openings the shutters are starting to purr.

They are gone as fast as they appeared - the prehistoric creatures that have been around for more than 50 million years, very much unchanged for all that time. Fifty million years! And millions of them roaming the northern plains until, within a span of less than a century, we nearly wiped them out.
Endangered. How powerful we are! And short-sighted too.

Three subspecies of Bison, or whatever's left of them, roam the planet today: 

European bison (Bison bonasus) - larger and even more endangered than its American cousins. It lives only in a sanctuary in Bialowieza Forest, (the World Heritage site ) near the city of Bialystok in north-eastern plains of Poland. It is best known from the labels of  "Zubrowka", a famous Polish distillate savored by connoisseurs throughout the world.  There is a stem of sweet bison-grass in each bottle, giving the product its distinct taste.

"Zubr" is an eastern-European name for this animal. Just click on the name  if you want to see the European Bison as well. 

Interesting how we wipe powerful species out of the face of Earth and then label every product or service with their names.

(1 European bison sub-species already extinct.)

American bison, Bison bison,  with 2 representative sub-species: Plains Bison, Bison bison bison  and a larger Wood Bison,  Bison bison athabascae .

And though in Yellowstone Park it looks as if there were plentiful, there are nearly no wild bison living free and outside the protected areas today. 

(3 American bison sub-species already extinct.)

Oh yes ... that a bison or a buffalo question: is it a "bison or a "buffalo"?

Since  "buffalo" live either  in Africn or Asia and are of different species, makeup and habits, calling a bison by the name "buffalo" is incorrect.  Something like calling a human an orangutang.

But try to type "buffalo" into your search and half of the North America will respond.

So there.

In any case - we caught up with "our" bison a few kilometers later. Looking for greener pastures they are just about to cross the river, adults first, mothers with babies next, please.

The youngsters seem to be afraid of the fast moving river. but their Mothers and Aunts keep nudging and assuring until everyone gets safely across.

 Elements conquered there are only two things for the young to do:       jump for joy and eat!

Baby bison do not have a hump until they are about 2 months old. Why should they? They do not eat grass like the adults - not just yet.

There is nothing like a good scrub after a swim. That, and a taste of clay to get rid of the parasites.

Done with their Spa the herd continues on, leaving the rest of us, the representatives of the world,  behind.

Us and a lone fisherman who can finally continue his quest for a trout of Madison River.