 EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes
and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and
archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


 A Bison at Home on Yellowstone’s Range

   November 05, 2021

    20210904_104427

   Photographer:  Angela Harris

   Summary Author:  Angela Harris &  Ray Boren

   A living symbol and icon of  Yellowstone National Park, a solo
   American bison bull ( Bison bison) also popularly known as a
   buffalo, strolls a grassy stretch along the beautiful and serene
    Madison River, in a photograph taken on Sept. 4, 2021.

    Bison — the largest wild mammal in North America — have roamed the
    Yellowstone region in northwestern Wyoming and sections of Montana
   and Idaho, in an unbroken stretch for thousands of years. The
    National Park Service counted 4,680 individuals in the summer of
   2020, in two primary herds. Feeding primarily on  grasses and
   sedges, the males of the species (bulls) weigh up to 2,000 pounds (900
   kg), while females (cows) weigh about 1,000 pounds (450 kg). Generally
   social animals, they congregate during the breeding season to attract
   mates, but mature males separate from the herds following courtship and
   tend to spend autumn and winter alone or in smaller groups.

   The  Madison River, along which this bison is grazing, flows
   westward here, but its waters will ultimately end up south in the Gulf
   of Mexico. The  Continental Divide is complicated in Yellowstone,
   with some of its waters heading toward the Pacific Ocean via the Snake
   and Columbia river systems, and others rivers flow toward the Atlantic
   Ocean and related basins. The Madison, 183 miles (295 km) long, joins
   to the north with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers at Three Forks,
   Montana, to form the Missouri River, which eventually merges with the
    Mississippi River.
     * Yellowstone National Park, Coordinates: 44.6527, -111.0179

Related EPODs

    A Bison at Home on Yellowstone’s Range  Sphinx Moth Feeding on a
   Lilac Bush  Sea Lung Jellyfish  Fireflies and Star Trails in
   Italy  Grebes Courtship Display  Archive - Web Iridescence
    More...

Animal Links

     *  Animal Diversity Web
     *  ARKive
     *  BirdLife International
     *  Bug Guide
     *  Discover Life
     *  Integrated Taxonomic Information System
     *  Microbial Life Resources
       Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the
-
        Universities Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu
 
