Collateral damage (please read the description)
Especially in harsher-than-average winters such as the current 2022-2023 year, many Yellowstone bison migrate to lower, more protected areas where snow is not deep (or sometimes, not persistently present, as in these photos) making it easier to find food. These bison are in an area encompassing the northern-most section of the national park (where hunting is never permitted) and the southern reaches of Custer-Gallatin National Forest (where hunting is permitted under specific conditions).
Each winter, the park, the Forest Service, and Montana Wildlife, Fish and Game collaborate to allow specific indigenous tribes and a small number of non-tribal hunters to harvest a limited number of bison. The hunt is part of a policy to keep a lid on the population of Yellowstone bison. It is not without controversy though I do not object to allowing native people to hunt bison as has been their tradition for uncounted generations.
One of the most controversial aspects of this hunt is of course the risk of unintended/accidental injury to bison, other wildlife, and of course, to human life and property. In this instance, a bison calf (centered in the photo) has suffered a wound, possibly from a stray shot, to its left front fetlock. It was completely unable to bear weight on the leg. Living as a wild bison in Yellowstone with only three functional legs is not a long term proposition. If the poor thing doesn't die of infection first, it will be easy pickins' for predators that will doubtless notice its compromised condition. It's all part of the circle of life but nonetheless heart-rending to witness.
As I waited in my car while the last shots were fired, streams of bison headed past me back towards the park. They of course cannot understand where the park boundary is, but they knew where to head to get away from danger.
Collateral damage (please read the description)
Especially in harsher-than-average winters such as the current 2022-2023 year, many Yellowstone bison migrate to lower, more protected areas where snow is not deep (or sometimes, not persistently present, as in these photos) making it easier to find food. These bison are in an area encompassing the northern-most section of the national park (where hunting is never permitted) and the southern reaches of Custer-Gallatin National Forest (where hunting is permitted under specific conditions).
Each winter, the park, the Forest Service, and Montana Wildlife, Fish and Game collaborate to allow specific indigenous tribes and a small number of non-tribal hunters to harvest a limited number of bison. The hunt is part of a policy to keep a lid on the population of Yellowstone bison. It is not without controversy though I do not object to allowing native people to hunt bison as has been their tradition for uncounted generations.
One of the most controversial aspects of this hunt is of course the risk of unintended/accidental injury to bison, other wildlife, and of course, to human life and property. In this instance, a bison calf (centered in the photo) has suffered a wound, possibly from a stray shot, to its left front fetlock. It was completely unable to bear weight on the leg. Living as a wild bison in Yellowstone with only three functional legs is not a long term proposition. If the poor thing doesn't die of infection first, it will be easy pickins' for predators that will doubtless notice its compromised condition. It's all part of the circle of life but nonetheless heart-rending to witness.
As I waited in my car while the last shots were fired, streams of bison headed past me back towards the park. They of course cannot understand where the park boundary is, but they knew where to head to get away from danger.