Bison

It's one thing to read about bison, but another entirely to encounter them as you are hiking through a park. Coming up an over a hill to find myself staring at a herd of them just feet from me was humbling, exhilarating, and a little terrifying. For an animal with the bulk of a VW bus, they can more at tremendous speed and have been known to aggressively defend their territory if they feel threatened. I don't know exactly why I did it, but I just sat down on the ground. A couple of them got curious and came close enough to catch my scent, but the herd got calmer when I made myself smaller and eventually grazed themselves far enough away that I could safely walk the other direction.

Custer State Park, South Dakota

October 2017