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One of the largest herds of American Bison can be found at the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Preserve in southwestern Oklahoma. During our vacation in October 2020, my wife and I had hopes of seeing the American Bison (or buffalo as many refer to them) and the Texas Longhorns in the wild and not stuck behind a rancher’s fence. During our trip we did get to see both but the longhorns weren’t close enough to photograph. On different days I had several good opportunities to photograph several small herds of American bison.
History the American Bison at the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Preserve
200 years ago the American bison could be found rooming Mexico to central Canada and was estimated that there were 30 to 60 million of them. With so many available, they became a much needed resource for the Native Americans living in the region. But with the mass slaughter, sport-hunting, and encroaching settlements those numbers dropped to estimated low of 550 in the wild and some in captivity.
In the 20th century preservation began with the help of William T. Hornaday, the first director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Theodore Roosevelt by creating the American Bison Society at the Bronx Zoo (originally called the New York Zoological Park.)
The plan was to take 15 bison to a protected refuge so they could multiple and preserve the species. So on October 11, 1907 the bison were crated up on box cars and shipped to the small town of Cache Oklahoma and were they were greeted by people from all over. Including in those that came to visit was Comanche Chief Quanah Parker and mounted braves and their families road in to greet these great beast that provided meat and other resources for generations of their ancestors.
By the 1930s the the American bison count was up to 20,000. Today there are half a million bison in North America. Over the years the refuge has auctioned surplus bison and has become a tradition for those living in the area. But in 2020, that all changed when it was decided that all bison that weren’t needed at the refuge will be a 100 percent donation of surplus bison to conservation partners, including tribes or intertribal organizations.
Today the refuge estimates the herd is about 650.
Second day at the Refuge
While driving out to one of our planned hiking trips we came across a couple of bison sitting near the road. I believe them to be older bulls since as they get older they can’t compete with the younger bulls and have to live a solitary life.
I was able to get about 100 feet from one of them. He didn’t seem to care. But I was nervous since these animals may be use to humans but they are still wild animals and may decided to charge. I took a handful of pictures and then moved on.
Final Day at the Refuge
On our last day of vacation we stumbled across a large herd of American bison but unfortunately they were on the protected side of the game fence and so far away that even my telephoto lens couldn’t get a good shot. But just a few miles down the road we found a small herd of a couple cows and a young bull grazing.
I grabbed my long lens and got as close as I felt safe (there was a deed creek bed between the heard and myself). I started taking a few pictures. Then out of no where a large bull popped his head up from the creek bed and came up on my side of the creek. I turned around and left.
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About the Image
The American bison were shot from the roadside or a few feet off the road on a bright sunny mid afternoon. I using my Sony a6000 with my Sony SELP18105G E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS or my Sony E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 Lens. I then edited the images with Adobe Lightroom CC, Topaz Labs Denoise AI; Topaz Labs Sharpen AI and DXO NIK Collection to clean up the images.
About James
Thats neat