European Bison versus Wolves

It's a long way from the Southern Rockies, but this video fits the June 20 theme of "predators and fawns/calves." 

A friend in Poland sent the video's link to the news site Notes from Poland. The European bison, sometimes called "wisent" (similar to ours but taller and slimmer) was extirpated by over-hunting. Its population has recovered in a few places due to re-introduction from captive herds. 

The largest population is in Poland's Białowieża Forest, one of the last examples of Eastern European old-growth forest. It was saved over the centuries mainly by being a royal hunting preserve. It is known for wildlife but is also the site of disputes over logging vs. preservation.

You can see wolves harassing the bison — they mainly are interested in the two calves, which they keep trying to cut off from the adults. As wolves do.

What to Watch When Herding Buffalo

Close-up of buffalo in a squeeze chute. (Owen Preece for HCN)

High Country News ran this article last March on the work of the "head bison wrangler" at the American Prairie Project in eastern Montana, Pedro Calderon Dominguez: "The Art of Moving a Buffalo."

At American Prairie, Calderon-Dominguez works with about 900 bison, divided into two herds. Each herd grazes at least 25,000 acres. The bison are wild animals, but not, legally, wildlife. Montana classifies them as livestock, and they graze land leased from the Bureau of Land Management for that purpose.

Like any big project in the West, it's not without controversy:

A few months after Calderon-Dominguez moved to Montana, the BLM permitted American Prairie to graze bison on six allotments in Phillips County. The state’s governor and attorney general both petitioned the decision, arguing that public rangelands should be for commercial agriculture. Their protests were denied by the Interior Board of Land Appeals in October 2023, and again on appeal last May.

Calderon-Dominguez tries to reduce the tension by keeping bison off neighboring property. Ranchers have his cellphone number to call if they see open gates, broken fences or off-premise bison, and American Prairie offers compensation for bison-related damage. So far, the group said, no one has ever requested it.

The owner of a now-gone buffalo ranch near me used to say that they could not be herded like cattle. No dogs. No "Yee-haw" wranglers on horseback.  When he wanted to move his herd to a different pasture, he laid a trail of hay through an open gate and just waited. 

Calderon is somewhat similar in approach: 

Moving them anywhere takes patience. When Calderon-Dominguez needs a herd to change directions, for example, he gets close on his ATV. (He said he’d rather ride a horse but cannot do so for insurance reasons.) It’s enough to pressure the bison to move without agitating them. He always watches their body language carefully.

“The way they move an ear, the eye is going to follow. Then the nose is going to follow and then the feet,” said Calderon-Dominguez. “You’re observing that all the time across the whole group of animals.”

When the herd turns in the right direction, Calderon-Dominguez drives away. Knowing when to release the pressure, he explained, is as important as knowing when to apply it.

It's Spring, When Large Animals Stomp You

On May 4, 2025, a  47-year-old Florida man was gored by a bison in Yellowstone National Park. He survived. 

“We see about two or three (bison attack victims) a year,” Dr. Kirk Bollinger with the Emergency Medicine department at Cody Regional Health told Cowboy State Daily in May. “I haven’t seen a lot of goring injuries where the victim’s guts are coming out. The big thing is the internal bleeding.” 

Then on Tuesday, June 10, a New Jersey man got the treatment at Upper Geyser Basin:  

Park officials said in a statement that the man was in a group of visitors that “approached (the bison) too closely” when it turned and charged.Emergency medical personnel treated the victim for minor injuries.

 The Buffs aren't much of a threat in Colorado (Joke intended), but I've seen equal risks run in Custer State Park-Wind Cave National Monument in South Dakota, which I think of as a sort of mini-Yellowstone, less geysers and grizz. 

 But we now have moose: 

 

Cow moose give birth to calves in late spring and early summer. During this time, they can become more aggressive toward perceived threats to their young. Cows will hide their calves to protect them from predators but will stay nearby. Turn around or leave an area if a calf is spotted. If a moose begins to charge, get behind objects like trees or boulders to put obstacles in its path. Respect posted signs warning of aggressive moose behavior or calf activity on trails. Choose a trail with good visibility and make noise when recreating through thick vegetation.

Most moose conflicts involve dogs. When recreating near riparian or willow habitats, keep dogs on-leash to avoid startling moose near a trail. Off-leash dogs can venture off-trail, surprising hidden moose calves or cows. Cows will, in turn, chase retreating dogs, which can bring the moose in contact with humans. 

A moose sees your happy, bouncy dog and thinks "Wolf! Danger! Attack!" You can read about some specific attacks at the link, but here is one:

On Fri., May 30, two women walking four dogs off-leash encountered a cow moose along Fourmile Creek Road in Fairplay. The moose charged and trampled the women multiple times. Eventually, they  were able to climb onto a nearby roof to escape. A neighbor hazed the moose away with a fire extinguisher. Neither woman sought medical treatment. CPW officers responded to the scene and found two cow moose. Unable to definitively identify which moose was involved in the attack, no further action was taken. 

One moose was shot recently in Grand Lake, Colo., as an act of what was judged to be self-defense. Again, a dog was involved.

 And then there are cow elk. This from exactly a year ago in Estes Park: 

“While newborn calves are immobile, cow elk can become aggressive towards perceived threats,” CPW said. “People are encouraged to be aware while recreating outdoors that calves could be hidden nearby. Cow elk can charge from many yards away.”

Mule deer does are hiding in the oak brush right now, waiting for fawns to drop, if they have not already. Not as threatening as cow elk though!