Bison Conga Line

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 2, 2015186 views5 comments

When I was in Yellowstone last September, I sat on a hill and watched the bison rut activity along the Yellowstone River in the Hayden Valley. It was interesting to watch the big old bulls chase and corner the cows. The younger bulls were not as successful as the more experienced bulls. After a while, I noticed these three young bulls form this line. Maybe they were frustrated at their lack of success with the ladies or were just playing. Not sure. I liked this image because of the beautiful grass landscape and the unusual behavior.

Processed using Lightroom 5 an Photoshop CC 2014. Comments and critiques welcome.

Canon 7D
Canon 200-400 f4 L IS
f6.3
1/400s
ISO100
Focal Length 560mm (Teleconverter Engaged)

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on January 2, 2015 at 3:31 PM

I seemed to have sized my image incorrectly. Here is what I hope is a smaller "correctly sized" version.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 2, 2015 at 7:11 PM

I have witnessed this behavior with young bulls and I am convinced that it is not play or frustration. Rather, it seems to be part of a pecking order jostling, like school boys shoving each other around, likely testing their strength and dominance against another. Image quality looks excellent. I especially appreciate the uniform golden background provided by the tall grasses. I wish the back bull were a little off to one side or trailing a bit to provide a less congested zone of activity.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on January 3, 2015 at 4:08 PM

Nice harmonious colors here and sharp detail. The top angle is a bit steep which takes away from the scale of the animal I believe

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on January 3, 2015 at 8:12 PM

Jerry: like the conga line and wish as has been mentioned, that the animals had been offset a bit, but such is life in the field. The tones in the Bulls and that clean background are a treat.
I've seen similar behavior in domestic Bulls. A rancher I know uses the term "bulling" to describe it. It's a non combative method of determining dominance. The more dominant bull will even mount a lesser bull momentarily. Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on January 4, 2015 at 6:08 PM

I am also not sure about the behavior Jerry. Glad to see the size it should have been, it confused my mind a bit (which isn't hard to do). I like the line they seem to be in and surrounding brown grasses.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments