I recently enjoyed a trip to South Dakota, an area of the country I had never visited before. One of the more thrilling events was my Bison Quest. I even bought a plush one to from the gift shop to cuddle with. While driving through Badlands we saw many herds in the distance. I tried very hard to zoom in enough to be able to see one, but to no avail.
Then we went around a big curve. I saw what I thought was a “Beware Bison” sign, but when we got closer I saw the tail swish. It was a magnificent male bison standing between the uprights of a sign that read Authorized Personnel Only. This guy clearly was claiming his authority to be there.
How close can you safely pass behind a big male bison at the side of the road? I kept imagining my picture on social media with all of the others that got too close to a wild bison. That would be horrifying on so many levels.
Later in the day we saw a line of cars backed up in both directions on the road. There was a bison laying in the road. Once it got up you could almost see those drivers hesitating with a similar concern. How far should you let him walk before approaching? Yes, it was another huge male.
At another place we actually saw a baby bison. A very BIG baby. Absolutely adorable! It moved much more quickly than what I would expect from an animal of that size. I can only imagine what a sight it would be to see a full sized bison or herd running. Obviously I wouldn’t want to be too close to that. Yikes!
We saw many other amazing sights while driving through the Badlands. There were amazing rock structure, a huge variety of birds and animals, and wonderful landscapes. I highly recommend making a day of it if you ever get a chance to visit there. Embark on a bison quest of your own.