February 20, 2008
A Grand Sight — But a Meager Shadow
Filed under Mike's photos, South Dakota, on the road, photography, places
Buffalo at Custer State Park in South Dakota.
They once darkened the hills and the plains of the American West. The buffalo (American bison) herds of today are but a meager shadow of what they once were.
In Custer State Park the size of the herd is managed to ensure that it does not grow larger than the park natural resources can support. Each year, the park holds a Buffalo Roundup Day in September. The entire park herd of about 1400 buffalo are moved to the buffalo corrals where they are sorted. All calves are branded and the female calves are tested for brucellosis.
Most of the buffalo are released back into the park. Those that are not released will be sold at auction in November. All animals that will be auctioned are tested for tuberculosis and brucellosis.
We visited the park several times during our week in the Black Hills of South Dakota and saw over 1000 buffalo — we actually keep track of the number of large animals that we see during a trip. We didn’t double count as we saw part of the herd in different locations.
August 20, 2007 at 2.03pm MDT
Camera: Pentax K10D
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/350)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100
flickr
Comments on "A Grand Sight — But a Meager Shadow" »
Tim @ 9:43 am
I’ve been to southern Arkansas and the land looked about that flat. I prefer hills and plenty of trees. The Ohio turnpike actually made me feel nauseous, it was that flat and it went on for mile after mile, as though it had been pounded flat by some object from space.
teeni @ 12:44 pm
I’m with Tim - the hills and grassy knolls certainly add a lot of interest when you are on a drive. This is a pretty photo. I am glad to see I wouldn’t be the only fool pulled over to watch the buffalo.