Last week in Yellowstone National Park I encountered the smallest of bison jams, caused by a single bison that acted as traffic cop after a calf sprinted across the road.
The scene unfolded after an adult male bison decided, suddenly, to charge across the highway. He was followed by the calf, and the young bison showed surprising speed in an amusing display captured on video.
Subsequently, the adult female in the accompanying footage ran onto the highway and froze in the middle of the road, as if to intentionally stop two-way traffic. (Video is best viewed with sound.)
Stoic Yellowstone bison plays traffic cop after calf runs across road. #wildlife @solanapete https://t.co/LMtvXUNVgE
— Pete Thomas (@Pete_Thomas) September 28, 2022
She stood, stoically except for her swinging tail, for more than a minute before a motorist grew impatient and used his vehicle to coax the bison off the road. (Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again” seemed appropriate for the Instagram reel.)
Perhaps the female was being protective in case the calf, possibly hers, were to cross the road again. Or perhaps this was merely where the female bison wanted to stop.
Ultimately, she joined the calf opposite the highway and the motorists moved on in pursuit of more adventures.
This occurred east of Tower Junction about a mile before the road ends – as part of a temporary closure caused by unprecedented flooding in June – at Slough Creek.
