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Just read that a a woman in Utah was gored by a bison. I wouldn't have posted this if she wasn't okay, but she is, so I'll just say...
I grew up in Manitoba, where the bison is our provincial animal. It is also on the coat-of-arms, and the emblem, of my first university. Sometimes I get asked what I miss about Canada, and I have to say that the answer is almost always two-fold: the various native peoples, and the natural landscape - including the animals - and bison must be my favourite.
Years ago, a week after visiting my brother in Manchester, I was back in Canada and driving down a very secluded highway in the North. On the horizon was a huge black shape, dominating the road. At first I thought it was an abandoned truck, then I got closer and saw it was a bison. The absolutely massive beast was just standing there in the middle of my lane. I had no idea what to do. So I just sat there and stared into the eye of the animal, and hoped that it would move on.
After a few minutes of playing stare-eyes, it finally did, and I was able to get by. But my God, what an incredible moment!
Any similar experiences?
hiking up a mountain in Western China c.2001, a yak stood just off the path. It was huge. I looked at it, it looked at me. There was no-one around.
After a minute I realised I should get a photo and I hastened to open my rucksack and fish out my camera - I have never been so close to a yak before or since.
During this time, the yak lost interest and turned away. I tried to attract its attention again. I clapped my hands and shouted, but it didn't care and started to wander off.
I do have a slightly blurry photo of a yak's arse as a souvenir though, so it wasn't all bad.
There's a big herd of them near Melton Mowbray if you ever get homesick!
And they do make amazing burgers....
Homesick?
I thought a bison was what you're sick in when you're in Wolverhampton.
Whenever I see one, I can shake the fact that they look like the animal equivalent of some drunk stumbling around with no trousers on...
Sorry.
Incredible looking beasts. Weird how they only shave the back half.
Massive beasts
When I did a snowboarding season in Big Bear(southern Cal) there was a petting zoo with a couple of bison. Their enclosure was really close to a road and if you were lucky a bison would be stood up next it as you drove past. They made the great big 5 litre Ford van I drove seem like a mini.
Actually think back now it wasn't just their size but how powerful they looked... Like they could have taken on that big old van and won.
Did a canoe trip down a river a few years ago. Camped in two places. The second place was a farmers field. Stumbling out the tent in the morning, still bleary eyed, I noticed I was approximately face to face with the bull of the herd, which had decided to sleep among the tents. The whole herd, that is. He looked at me for a second then carried on chewing.
In other animal top trumps, we get red kite near us.
Noting Bison sized, but I found myself staring at a Deer and Fawn at Afan years ago, I had no idea there were Deer there. Maybe I'm too urbanised, but I think of Deer as living semi-domestically in the grounds of some big old house or in the quiet bits of Scotland. I probably got 5 seconds to look before they shot off. I've seen Deer since in FOD, and a pair of Boar that shot across my path on one of the DH runs, but they were just a blur.
This video is in saxons link. Just because their in a park they aren't tame cuddly creatures !!
P.s nobody was hurt....much.
For me diving. Mainly Red Sea and Caribbean but Indian Ocean too.
Big pointy teeth fish. Good later to think about but at the time nooooooooooo!
Extraordinary creatures and would love to see a herd, from a safe distance naturally. Linky to Canadian bison livecam:
https://explore.org/livecams/bison/plains-bison-grasslands-national-park-cam-1
For me the most magnificent animal is the wolf, there's nothing quite like it.
I thought a bison was what you’re sick in when you’re in Wolverhampton.
Whats the differnce between a buffalo and a bison?
Yaow cant was yer ands in a buffalo
I was in Sumatra, hiking on my own, and there was a large Orang Utan,<a href="http://[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/3145/2776298325_b61281ab0f_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/3145/2776298325_b61281ab0f_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/5ekfLv ]abdul[/url] by , sat low down in a tree.I was pretty close, he had a massive armspan, and it was awesome to be in the presence of such a powerful relative for a few minutes
In Norway we went out to find the muskoxes and spend a long time watching them from a distance when this guy was suddenly right on the path https://flic.kr/p/HB8kyk
Next day we saw one on the road which looked a bit aggressive and in the evening we read about one having picked a fight with parked cars
On a trip round Yellowstone several years ago, there were herds of Bison roaming about, the sheer mass & presence was amazing. We stopped and got out for some pics. I stayed behind the car bonnet with the zoom lens but other folk were walking right up to them - there was just no way i was doing that.
But then we also saw a black bear near the road. I didn't get out the car but others around us did. I heard complaints that it wasn't as big as a grizzly and then they walked off towards it!
Maybe it's 'cos i'm a pasty Brit that doesn't know about North American wildlife that i didn't get the best out of the experience...
We wild camped once in the National Grasslands in North Dakota. We watched a herd of about 20-30 bison milling around some distance away as the sun went down, also saw a pronghorn cruising across the plains at high speed, apparently just for the joy of running. That was impressive. I encourage anyone looking for stuff to do in the US to try it.
As a youngster my football landed in the field next to the pitch, as i was retrieving my ball i suddenly surrounded by about 30 Fresian bullocks. I just ran at them shouting boo and they scarpered. I scared 20 tons of meat away at 11 years old I felt tough that day
Any similar experiences?
I had a similar experience in a pub in Melbourne, Australia. There was a game of football on and everyone was watching that when the biggest human being I have ever seen swaggered in and stalked around the place, stopping to glare at each person in turn. Everyone just kept their eyes fixed to the football trying to look all staunch and unconcerned. Then he ordered a pint and when the bartender asked him to pay, he waved his fist. What he didn't notice was that four pretty solid bouncers had snuck up behind him and were ready to pounce. They grabbed him two to an arm and tossed him back out on the street. You could just feel the entire pub let out a sigh of relief. Jesus, I have no idea what I would have done if he'd chosen me to be his punching bag, there just wasn't anything a normal sized person could do.
I think of Deer as living semi-domestically in the grounds of some big old house or in the quiet bits of Scotland
Deer are literally everywhere in the UK. They're extremely good at not being seen.
Tons of them near us, Muntjac and Roe. It doesn't take much in the way of overgrown fields or stands of trees to keep them out of sight.
Got badgers near us too.
For me diving. Mainly Red Sea and Caribbean but Indian Ocean too.
Big pointy teeth fish.
Dolphin were pretty cool to swim with, definitely one of those life experiences to tick off.
I did a boat trip in NZ (Kaikura, lovely place) to see them, at the start the guides had said "don't get your hopes up - we haven't seen any for a while" but a whole pod (some hundreds) arrived while we were there - absolutely brilliant experience.
Mrs Kilo did on foot tracking a black rhino on holiday one year - her and two guides. She said she was fine until they got to about twenty feet of the rhino when the enormity of the animal became a little more apparent. Short sighted, grumpy and smelly and the rhino isn't much better.
In Norway we went out to find the muskoxes
True fact: Musk-Ox are more closely related to sheep and goats than Oxon. They're really angry, huge sheep.
In my previous job I had:
3 elephants charge towards me in their enclosure, thankfully I was in a van and they were only after the brash on the back of it I was delivering to them.
A Male Lion attempt to spray me
Female Lions running up and sitting 3ft away from me snarling and licking their lips (luckily a fence in the way)
To drive my van at speed to help break up a fight between rhinos
Run and jump in to my van when a rhino decided to take an interest in me from 75m away
African Painted dogs sniffing and snarling at me
Shift some giraffes that were causing a road block
Plus numerous other ‘fun’ encounters
In my previous job I had:
3 elephants charge towards me in their enclosure, thankfully I was in a van and they were only after the brash on the back of it I was delivering to them.
A Male Lion attempt to spray me
Female Lions running up and sitting 3ft away from me snarling and licking their lips (luckily a fence in the way)
To drive my van at speed to help break up a fight between rhinos
Run and jump in to my van when a rhino decided to take an interest in me from 75m away
African Painted dogs sniffing and snarling at me
Shift some giraffes that were causing a road block
Plus numerous other ‘fun’ encounters
let me guess - bar staff in Cardiff?
While on honeymoon we visited Udawalawe National Park in Sri Lanka.
We saw loads of amazing animals there, but the one that will stick with me was the bull elephant charging towards the side of our open sided Landcruiser as we'd startled a small herd with babies.
He really shifted with his ears sticking straight out & trunk raised, while trumpeting loudly. I may have let out the odd ass trumpet of my own as I attempted to get out of my seat.
He got to within about 4 foot before the driver managed to get into the back of vehicle, wave his arms and make loud noises which seemed to have the desired affect of placating him.
One of the many highlights of Sri Lanka!
hard to believe that the posh knobbers that kept Wharncliffe Chase (the open bit above the crags) for hunting actually imported bison to hunt - this pic' is from around 1860
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credit to the source and if you ride Wharncliffe there are other pics from victorian times
http://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s12175&pos=2&action=zoom
I cycled (very cautiously) past a Bison grazing on the verge in South Dakota, many years ago. I flagged down a cyclist I met coming in the opposite direction, to warn her, and she just have me a slightly puzzled "so what?" look. Obviously it was just an occupational hazard for the local riders.