This is as close as you can get to a bison without being trampled.
Yellowstone National Park is a place that should be on every outdoor lover's bucket list at least once in their lives. Opportunities to see wildlife going about their daily lives completely indifferent to humans is one of the big perks of wandering the park. In the case of some animals, they have the right-of-way on the roads.
That's the case with the huge, lumbering bison. As this video shows, people must stop for bison traffic and the tourists can do nothing but sit in their vehicles and wait for these massive mammals to pass, as this viral video shows.
This is probably about as close as one can get to a buffalo without being trampled and severely injured in the process!
It really is something to witness the raw power of these animals at such a close range. Meanwhile the vehicle owners were probably rightfully concerned about the amount of damage one of these animals could do if it decided to plow into their vehicle. Try explaining that one to your insurance agency after the fact!
Several years ago, I found myself in a similar situation to this on the north end of the park. The bison were on the shoulder when they suddenly decided they wanted to use the road instead. There was nothing I could do except sit and wait for them to pass. I just sat there in awe, snapping photos as the herd passed within inches of the outside of Jeep's door. It truly was an awesome sight to behold and one of my favorite memories in the park.
Obviously, this wasn't a full-on stampede. One of the animals did spook a bit, which triggered this movement, but there would have been much more panic in the animals and a few vehicles would have been damaged. However, it was still an impressive showing of power and probably a bit of a nerve-wracking experience to have animals that large running so close. The chance for cool encounters like this is what keeps us going back to our country's first National Park!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
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