Bison Alert

It%26#39;s time for the annual ';heads up.'; If you are traveling into West Yellowstone, Montana (south on Highway 191 from Bozeman/Big Sky) watch carefully for herds of bison. The herds move from Yellowstone Park west across Highway 191. You can find bison on the roads all the way from about 10 miles north of West Yellowstone right up to where the town begins.

The heaviest concentration is usually about 5-7 miles north of West Yellowstone near the bridges, Baker%26#39;s Hole Campground, and turns to Horse Butte and Rainbow Point.

The speed limit (normally 65) has been reduced to 55 mph from the border of Yellowstone Park all the way to West Yellowstone (and if you turn west on Highway 287 to Quake Lake/Ennis as well).

Bison are large and very dark, and extremely hard to see at night. Their eyes do not reflect light like a deer or elk do at night. They also don%26#39;t jump off the roads for you. They may be standing in the middle of the road at any time of the day or night.

Bison see out of the sides of their heads (ever see one sway their heads back and forth?). They will not see you if you come up on their backside. Don%26#39;t expect that they will move out of your way.

Bison eating along the sides of the road may get spooked and jump in front of you. Go very slowly and you can usually work your way around a group. Be prepared for a young bison to jump up and run out in front of you.

This is not to make any paranoid, but just to advise for the months of April and May, slow down and be alert, especially after dark.

Bison Alert

Thanks for heads-up!

Bison Alert

Thanks for the alert. My husband and I are traveling to YSNP and GTNP in June, I know enough to stay a great distance from wild animals, but I am concerned about the behavior of bison. Are they aggressive? While driving, If I saw one standing in / near the road - should I turn back, or just maneuver my car around them?

%26gt;Are bison agressive?%26lt;

While bison resemble big, mellow dairy cattle,and way too many people think of them as being that, bison can be one of the most dangerous animals in the park. In June you might well see mother bison with newborn calves, and they will be very protective of their young.

When encountering a group of bison on or near a road, the best thing to do is to STOP until they move on thier way off the road. Do not try to hurry them along by getting too close or by blowing your horn. That could cause them to panic, and the consequences might not be good for either the bison or your vehicle! Where it is possible to drive around them, stay as far away from them as possible and move VERY SLOWLY, watching for juveniles that might bolt into your path.

While they can be a minor inconvenience to some park visitors, ';buffalo jams'; as they are called, seldom last for more than a few minutes, so relax and enjoy the experience as part of the wildness of Yellowstone.

My longest personal experience with a buffalo jam lasted for nearly 30 minutes late one afternoon in Lamar valley, where we were surrounded by 75 to 100 animals of all sizes as they milled around in and meandered back and forth across the road!

I can not imagine hitting oner of this huge magnificent creatures with a car. Certainly goof advice.

PS If ever in the San Fransisco Bay area Oakland%26#39;s Zoo has a large buffalo herd that can best be observed from the Sky Gondola ride that travels over them, the Lion Compound %26amp; African elephant one. Just a great way to see these creatures in their Giant compounds which often make ground observations difficult.

This article was in today%26#39;s Bozeman Chronicle:

Weekend collisions kill 15 Yellowstone bison

published on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 10:58 PM MDT

By JESSICA MAYRER Chronicle Staff Writer

Fifteen Yellowstone bison were killed on a two-mile stretch of road just north of West Yellowstone in three different collisions this week.

At around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, a Ford Fusion hit seven bison, four were killed immediately and three had to be euthanized, according to the Yellowstone National Park Public Affairs Office and the Montana Highway Patrol.

The Fusion, a midsize sedan, was totaled and the driver received minor injuries.

Then on Monday morning, eight bison were hit, seven of them by a semi truck. A GMAC Yukon, which was following the semi, hit the eighth bison, according to MHP and park officials. No major injuries were reported in those accidents either.

Neither alcohol nor excessive speed appeared to have been factors in any of the collisions, said MHP Capt. Thomas Butler.

* It’s common to see an increase in vehicle wildlife collisions in the spring as animals begin more actively foraging for food, he said.

“This time of year we typically see these kinds of crashes,” he said.

Because of an increase in wildlife activity, MHP had already reduced the speed limit on that stretch of U.S. Highway 191 to 55 mph and posted electronic signs along the road to alert motorists to the potential hazard, Linda J. Miller, a Yellowstone spokeswoman, said.

Highway shoulders are one of the first places where the snow and ice melt in the spring, so bison often gather there to graze, said Jesse Moss, of the Buffalo Field Campaign.

“People need to use extra caution,” Butler said. “The animals are out and about.”

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