Another favorite archived post, from Yellowstone NP in the winter …
Having traveled to Yellowstone recently, I felt I had to post some of the obligatory images of bison with snow on their faces … the iconic images a lot of us picture when we hear “Yellowstone in the winter”.
With snow amounts heavy in Yellowstone, it is hard for the grazing animals to find food. The bison use their huge heads to “sweep” snow away, allowing them access to any grasses that may lie below the snow. Consequently, the snow often adheres to their faces, giving a clown-like appearance. Here are a few of my favorite “bison with snow on the face” images from this trip:
And this next bison has ice in his hair:
Not to be outdone, Junior shows his snowy face:
In summer, Yellowstone has it’s “bear jams”, but in winter, it’s the “bison jams”. When driving through the only open road in winter (Gardiner, MT to Cooke City, MT) the road is often used by herds of the bison as they move about the park, looking for accessible food sources … and it is much easier walking on the plowed, but snow-covered roads, rather than the feet of snow!