May is National Photography Month and what better way to honor this artful observance than with a collection of beautiful buffalo photos from our 2020 calendar... just in case you missed picking one up!
So, sit back and scroll through to enjoy a year's worth of majestic beauty that includes a little nugget of information about these incredible gardeners of the prairie.
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
Photo Credit: Jill O'Brien
21 comments
Jill—any chance of purchasing photographs?
In your May photo you talk of new mothers and their calves forming nursery groups… and not being part of their “family” anymore. Those “separated” nursery cows are still part of functional extended families are still part of that extended family… males and females of the different ages and sex. It is just there is visual distance between them and the rest of the 50 or 60 animals making up that extended family. In our herd … and in Yellowstone’s, the dry or barren cows of that family follow behind the nursery group, maybe a quarter mile back baby sitting the yrlgs and 2 year olds. She may be responsible for up to 15 young ens. Those grandmothers, and aunts making up this dependent group are most always in visual sight of the nursery group. New mothers, whether human or grazer want and need to see everything is all right with their older children. Then there are the protective males of that family. They make the ring of defense. Not a perfect circle but rather occupying sensitive areas where protection (think wolves) is needed. The males close in are made of a gang of younger males… with the large mature bulls further out. But all are part of the nursery group.
This is the way it is with every wild grazer species allowed to form up and maintain extended families… when all the support systems are in place. Without it there is chronic stress in that “herd”. and added lactic acid, cortisol…. and thus fluid retention in their bodies. Nothing near the stress of feedlotted bison… but still an abnormal amount of stress.
Outstanding photos and wonderful depiction of “a year in the life of bison”. Keep up the great work!
A picture is worth a hundred pages usually. Your pictures are worth much more! Thank you, Jill.
Dan & Jill, These photos are absolutely beautiful! Thank you for sharing, and most importantly, thank you for your integrity and your approach. It is greatly appreciated, and it shows in the quality and taste of your finished product. I will never consider purchasing from anyone else than Wild Idea!
Sincerely,
Bryan Edwards
Beautiful images, Jill. You really bring us into the midst of the herd.