This hasn’t happened for about 50 years-
We are used to bison leaving the Park to the west and the north, and the great, stupid controversy it causes. The approximately 150 bison moving out of the NE Entrance was most unusual.
It appears the herd has now returned to the Park.
Bison herd pays visit to tourist towns. By Billings Gazette staff.
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
The DOL must have been asleep at the wheel – they could have harassed and hazed more buffalo if they’d been on the ball.
Yes Virginia,
I hope none of the residents is now infected with Bang’s Disease (human brucellosis). . . . intended as sarcasm.
That’s a good one, Ralph.
In other news, a brucellosis epidemic has struck Cooke City.
The Park bison biologist comments in the Billings paper are so typical dark age science observations (…“I think there’s probably a lot more activity along that northeast boundary than people realize,” ).
The Park bison biologist comments in the Billings paper are so typical dark age science observations (…“I think there’s probably a lot more activity along that northeast boundary than people realize,” ).
None of them have a clue why that “activity” is happening. Plus they don’t know the difference between the Pelican-Mirror herd and the Lamar herd. And without that knowledge all they can do is speculate and lump all bison together…or say such words as they did in their quote.
Wallen’s “activity” along the ne boundary is because Yellowstones Mt Bison, a group that is very wary of humans (and not the group sen in Cooke) are under extreme stress from all the outfitters being allowed night and day use on the Mirror Plateau during summer calving times. This last bastion of original Yellowstone bison has already been pushed off the NE’s Saddle Mt summer grounds and now is running back and forth from the Mirror on the east boundary. I say running back and forth because the wilderness area outfitters are pushing them around if they dare go far into the wilderness.
They have no safe home left and all Yell. can say is there is more “activity” than people realize. Well da… why not two and two together before it is too late and the Mt. Bison structure breaks down so much they hgave no choice left but to assimilate their ten thousand year old culture with the Lamar Plains bison (now in Cooke City).
And do you think these same biologists even have a clue as to why a “small group stayed” and the rest left? Zero chance.
I’ve seen two or three up near Cooke City while I was fishing a river just below town. I thought it unusual at the time.