Life of Bisons on Antelope Island - I.

 

The young bisons have grown quite a bit and their coat color has changed from orange-red to dark brown. They are now teenagers  but still remain close to their mothers and follow them everywhere. 

 

Something happened to one this female bison's horns.  Did she broke it or was she born this way?

Bison family.  

The female bison leads the procession.  The young calf follows his parents, trying to stay close.

Family portrait.  

As you can see, the female bison is in the middle.  She has more curvy horns and smaller in size than the bull.  Their young calf stays closer to his mother who will protect him until he grows up.

The mood of bison can be judged by its tail: when it's down and switches naturally, the bison is usually calm.  If the tail is standing straight up, watch out!

Generally, life is good.

On Bisons' Life

At first glance, it may seem that the life of bisons is not very interesting. They are slow, most of the time they are chewing grass, resting or wallowing in the dirt.

But in the spring the life of bisons is different. The mating season begins, the females give birth to calves. 

On the photo above the little calf isn't yet one year old and he will stay with his mama until he matures. 

During spring and summer the days are getting more hot and bisons are getting more lazy. 

It's probably feels good to roll around in the dirt while giving yourself the dirt bath.   

There is not much water available for bisons on Antelope Island to bathe, so over time they figured out that rolling in the dirt can do the same as bathing in the water.  

It's time for milking.  

It took a long time for milking but the mother was patient and the calf was happy.

It seems that the other calf is not going to run and play in the heat.

So, I will run by myself...

Another bather. 

As soon as one of the bisons was finishing his dirt bath, the other immediately began to roll in the sand.  

To photograph a herd wasn't easy.  The bisons almost always turned their backs on me.  Out of numerous photos I liked only the photo above.

Generally, life is good!