Bison doing what they do best; grazin’ and lazin’.
Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (that’s a mouthful) outside of Denver, CO is an incredible story of environmental damage and reclamation. A Superfund site previously used for everything from weapon manufacturing and storage by the U.S. Army to chemical manufacturing by Shell Oil, it has been transformed into an almost functional ecosystem featuring wetlands and grasslands and a whole collection of species that inhabit them.
The moment I drove in, there was a coyote watching me closely and following alongside my car. It stopped periodically to see if I was continuing on and eventually disappeared into the tall grass. Within the refuge is an 11 mile long auto tour, where you can see a variety of animals including prairie dogs. But I was here for one thing and one thing only: Bison.
I could see bison in the distance, but they weren’t close enough to get photos of. I had given up on my search and decided to loop back around to spend more time with the prairie dogs, when I rounded a corner and there they were about 50 yards ahead. They were in the road and on either side of the road. At this point, I was grateful to drive an electric car as I could leave it on without moving or making a noise. I was also incredibly grateful for my nice long lens because there was no way I was willing to get closer. While bison often have a reputation for being indifferent or “lazy”, they are unpredictable and fast, and you never know exactly what might trigger them. So I sat quietly in my car, snapping away.
Behind me, a couple of cars were stopped to admire the bison as well. Not that we had much choice; the animals were now dominating the roadway indifferent to the humans parked in the metal cannisters. But one driver just didn’t seem interested. In fact, they seemed annoyed. The Honda Civic lurched forward and went around me, ignoring the solid line and the bison just ahead. He honked and pushed forward. Bison stared at him, probably wondering where he got the audacity, but the Honda made it through and tore off around the corner. This must have annoyed the bison, as they all got up and walked up the road closer to our cars. There was no going backyard or forward. We were all stuck, waiting for the bison to mosey along so we could continue. It was about 20 minutes before we could go on our way, and while I’ve worked at zoos with bison, being up close to free-range bison is really a different feeling.
On the way out, there was a bonus white-tailed deer doe and her fawn walking cautiously through the tall grass. It took me three solid looks to notice her young following behind her as it was so well hidden. A cottontail rabbit, barely hidden in the grass along the road, stopped abruptly in a perfect example tonic immobility (“freeze response”). The rabbit hoped I wouldn’t see it, so I snapped my photo and moved along without bothering it further. My final photo of the day was a total fail and a lesson in preparedness. To put it simply, I was not prepared and so by the time I got around to taking the photo, this hawk (ferruginous maybe?) was already flying off.
For more information about Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, you can check out their website as well as the EPA’s website regarding the sites superfund status.
