Yellowstone National Park, Hayden Valley, buffalo and testosterone are on the docket for today. Today, which also happens to be our 13th wedding anniversary @juliabreheny and I took a drive to Hayden Valley which is located here in Yellowstone National Park just a few miles from where we are currently staying. The buffalo were out in droves, crowding the road, feeding on grass (how these big ass creatures live on grass is beyond me) and gearing up to mate aka The Rut. The male buffalos will choose a female and stay near her and try to keep other males away from her at all costs. When left alone the male will perform what I can only describe as buffalingus on his lucky lady friend. Although it becomes increasingly rare as we get deeper into rut season and all of the males are looking to mate. The male will show various displays of strength when other males begin encroaching on his relationship. This ranges from bugling, which sounds like one part grunt and 2 parts roar to rushing towards another male to get him to back off and ultimately when a willing challenger doesn't back off the inevitable butting of heads. We got to witness two males off in the distance going head to head for about 15 seconds when a clear winner emerged when the other male suddenly became interested in a particularly appetizing blade of grass about 20 feet away from the fight. I can only imagine the headache this guy must have had to give up on a date with his dream buffalo babe.
The video below shows some of this behavior in action (unfortunately I didn't get the big boys going for the belt) but I still have some time left here in Yellowstone and promise to do my best. In this video the subject male was on the other side of the road and was being harrased by several other males to pass the lady over. He made his way across the street to get away from him but they followed him over there. It was at this point I started filming from inside the bed of my truck and caught this incredible footage of him trying to sneak away with his new girlfriend. It was a little windy and shot with the same filmography techniques as the Blair Witch Project
I'll give this guy one thing, several of the other males were significantly bigger than he was but none of them were willing to take a bite so to speak.
Here's a photo I took of an incredible buffalo couple. We pulled over and watched another male following this pair around for about ten minutes. At one point the coupled male turned and briefly charged at the following male but the following male didn't budge so he just turned back to his girlfriend and kept grunting, flexing and moving away.
It's incredible to witness the various family dynamics of the herds as well. Often times you'll see large groups of females tending to their young with just a few bulls (adult males) mixed in to protect the family.
Here is a mother and her red cow (baby buffalo).
This one reminds me of @juliabreheny, @nickthetravelkid and myself being an awesome family (I'm the big badass looking one bringing up the rear).
Finally, we stopped and were just admiring a couple of herds on each side of the road (actually I was hoping for a fight) and noticed this young adolescent male behind us in the road. He stood in the road for no less than 10 minutes blocking traffic which just goes to show you that fucking teenagers are a pain in the ass no matter what species they belong to. I do admit to appreciating him doing that because I had zero cars in front of me but was able to sit and admire the herds due to his tenacity.
I have so many more incredible photos, videos and stories to share so follow along and be patient if it takes me awhile to get them posted.
Yellowstone National Park looks amazing, I love seeing your travels. The buffalos look like they own the place lol, I couldn't get the vid to work on my phone but I've had bulls chase me across paddocks before, it was not fun, scared the shit out of my 11-year-old self. haha.
Dang, A memory like that will never leave you.
haha yeah it hasn't but it also didn't stop me cutting through the paddocks the next week, lol...
We have been in Yellowstone since May 31 and this never gets old. If you have never been or ever wanted to go, this is one of the most sensational places you will ever visit in your life. It is an endless journey viewing the animals in their natural habitat, to waterfalls, hiking, thermal areas, geysers, fumaroles, mountains, valleys and so much more. We can't wait to continue to share the beauty of the first National Park.
Happy anniversary you two :)
This is incredible footage @jbreheny! Your comment about teenagers made me howl too!!! Pains, every last one of them :) And "buffalingus" lol
So glad to hear things are going so well! How long are you guys staying there?
Glad you liked it! Our last day of work will be 9/19 and then we head north to Sidney MT for 2 - 3 weeks of brutal work at the Sugar Beet Harvest. We're still trying to nail down something near Colorado Springs after that since our daughter lives there and currently has our son Nick with her. After that back home to FL for a couple of weeks and then we're looking for our next work adventure.
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Thank you for sharing your experience while driving and filming the buffalo's daily life, an animal I've never had the chance to see in real life.... and I'm glad you left out further details and images about the "buffalingus"... :D
My pleasure, I have so much more footage and pictures. I figured the word buffalingus would speak for itself B-D
Fun post. It makes me miss Yellowstone. The best part of the video was at the end when you can see the line of cars stretching allllll the way down the road while they wait for the buffalo to finish roaming. :-)
It only took me 49 3/4 years but I finally came here and I'd have to say this is my favorite place on Earth... So far!
It's definitely one of the most unique, that's for sure. Have you had a chance to check out Sedona, Arizona or Moab, Utah? Both of those places boast impressive rock formations, although I've not seen much wildlife there. And happy almost birthday!
We moved out of our house and into a travel trailer earlier this year. We have not been to either of this places yet but plan on seeing both. We’re doing workamping. I’d love to find a gig in Sedona this winter.
I love life on the road. What kind of gig are you looking for?
We are pretty open. Preferably something that covers our RV hook up and provides pay as well. Great scenery is a must. Looking for good online opportunities too.
We have 2 vacation rentals in FL but are trying to break into some additional forms of income.
Do you typically stay in places with good phone and internet access? Do you like to spend time on the phone? Are you organized and a decent salesperson? I could send you in the direction of a freight brokerage which is hiring new agents. It's a work from home position, but you've got to work it to make it work.
The title of this article should be female buffalo get plenty of head. 😂😂
Or... Buffalo Boys love to go DOWNTOWN!
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Wow it is such an incredible adventure you are on. I bet @nickthetravelkid is having the time of his life. I'm sure the memories will be told to coming generations.
Don't worry i have lots of patience. Can't wait to see what happens next.
I'm not even sure what to post next. I have so much to choose from. Hoping to have one up tonight.
Thanks for the reply that is my reminder to check back.😉 Even with help from Ginabot I get so distracted and forget what I intended to do. Is @nickthetravelkid still posting. I should go over and offer some encouragement there. I have been trying to feature some Steeming Kids in my @pifc features. I think they probably get a kick out of it.
He hasn’t posted in awhile. I’ll try to get him to post one soon. I just posted a cool video of a grizzly bear though 😎