A large bull elk relaxing on a late September morning in the high Colorado Rocky Mountains.
Bull Elk Resting in Grass
Bison Lounging at the Great Salt Lake
A small herd of bison were lounging on the beaches of Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. This island is a state park and a wonderful location to explore Salt Lake. Ogden Utah is located across the lake.
Bison Bull Roaming Rocky Mountain Arsenal
This large bison bull was roaming the Rocky Mountain Arsenal refuge outside of Denver Colorado and he just happened to saunter past me while I was photographing the bison herd. He was a big boy and moved slowly across my frame. No hurry, just stopped for a brief moment to look at me and then continued on his way.
Bull Moose at Maroon Lake
This bull moose was roaming Maroon Lake above Aspen Colorado. This is the location where people get the iconic images of Maroon Bells and this guy was creating excitement and some havoc with the photographers. I was definitely enjoying the scene and watching him run off some of the folks.
Longhorns Grazing on Wyoming Grass
The couple of Texas Longhorn steers were grazing on grassland near Devils Tower National Monument in Northern Wyoming. It caught me by surprise to see them out on the prairie grassland mixing in with the American Bison.The Texas Longhorn was fashioned entirely by nature in North America. Stemming from ancestors that were the first cattle to set foot on American soil almost 500 years ago, they became the sound end product of "survival of the fittest". With the destruction of the buffalo following the Civil War, the Longhorns were rushed in to occupy the Great Plains, a vast empire of grass vacated by the buffalo. Cattlemen brought their breeding herds north to run on the rich grazing lands of western Nebraska, Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Montana. Thus, the Great Plains became stocked largely with these "bovine citizens" from the Southwest.
Longhorns Grazing on Wyoming Grass
Asserting Dominance
While exploring the area around Sage Creek in Badlands National Park we came across this large bull American Bison. He was a good 30+ yards from us but was showing typical signs of dominance and “I am the big boy on the block”. He was rolling in the grass and dusting up the area around him. He was grunting and dropping his head. I heeded his display and moved in the opposite direction. These guys are so interesting, massive and mesmerizing to see in the wild. I really enjoy just watching them do their thing. South Dakota has numerous wild herds and is a fantastic place to check them out. I am so very happy that we didn’t hunt them to extinction and have instead reintroduced them to the wild in our wildlife refuges and parks.
Asserting Dominance