JACKSON, Wyo. — Bison, or buffalo, are iconic animals of the wild west.
Buckrail photographer, Nick Sulzer, captured the Teton bison herd near Moran Junction as they foraged under the snow for buried vegetation.
A once flourishing number, millions of bison roamed the plains of the west in the late 1800s. Today a modest number of 500 live in the Jackson region. In Yellowstone National Park, there are approximately 5,000 animals.
The local Jackson herd does not migrate, but they do move from the area right around town to an area about 30 miles north (within Grand Teton National Park). A portion of the bison herd in Yellowstone migrates north onto private ranch lands in late winter.
According to National Parks Traveler, Yellowstone’s free-roaming bison are believed to be genetically pure because they descended from pocket herds that escaped into the upper headwaters of the Yellowstone River during the late 19th century. While the Yellowstone herd is genetically pure, the Grand Teton or Teton herd is not, and are believed to be descendants of about a dozen bison that escaped a ranch near Moran, WY back in the 1960s.
In Jackson Hole, wildlife enthusiasts can observe these magnificent animals as they settle into their wintering habitat in Grand Teton National Park.
According to the National Park Service, the bison is the largest land mammal in North America weighing in at approximately 2,000 pounds. An adult bull can run 35 miles an hour. Bison use their massive heads, thick skin and muscular necks to move snow from side to side, creating craters where they can access buried forage under the snow.
Bison normally have one calf in spring, which can weigh 40 pounds at birth.
