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Tatanka


Tatanka
Photo Information
Copyright: John McLaird (jmcl) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2437 W: 136 N: 3486] (12382)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-08-01
Categories: Nature
Camera: Olympus E 300, 58mm circular polarizer
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/15 seconds
Map: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Wildlife, The Black Hills [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-08-08 15:41
Viewed: 1211
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 44
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Tatanka

North American Bison in a morning rain.

Needles Highway
Custer State Park
the Black Hills
South Dakota.

Tatanka is the Lakota (Teton Sioux) word for the North American Bison .. otherwise known as the American Buffalo .. although other than being a large herbivore with horns the species has nothing in common with the Cape Buffalo, Water Buffalo or other true buffalo.

After Sylvan Lake (see previous post) as my first early morning opportunity ... I returned to Custer State Park after some more dawn shooting on my second morning. I had run out of time while hiking on the previous day and didn’t get a drive through the park.

There are two main reasons that make a drive through Custer State Park (and the adjoining Wind Cave National Park) a necessity on any Black Hills visit. One is the wonderfully scenic Needles highway ..a narrow road filled with large unusual rock formations .. (the area is a national attraction in rock climbing circles) ..

The other reason a visit to Custer State Park is a must is the North American Bison. Custer State Park has a massive free roaming herd 1,500 strong. The adjoining Wind Cave National Park also has a large herd .. one of four genetically pure herds in North America (Bison were bred with domestic cattle to boost the gene pool and population when the animal was on the verge of extinction).

My trip through Needles was disappointing .. as soon as I reached the road the early morning sky opened up with a torrential downpour .. I was headed down to the valleys below when I rounded a corner on the narrow road and .. see Workshop 1 .. this workshop is also there since if you have never met one of these critters in the wild I don’t think my original post really communicates the scale .. the workshop will allow you to compare the Bison to say a Toyota. Bison can reach 6.5 feet (2 meters) tall and 10 feet (3 meters) long .. they can weigh 900-2500 lb. (400-1150 kgs).

I have no idea what this fellow was doing up here on the narrow mountain road just after dawn .. I guess it is easier to walk through than the bush and the Needles are a scenic place.

Workshop 2 is my favorite picture of my whole vacation .. as I was slowly tailing the Bison we rounded a corner and there is a guy who has pulled over and is snapping shots of the deep valley to our right .. seemingly oblivious to this Bison barreling down the road at him. Bison are very dangerous animals .. There are signs all over the park to remind you of this .. Yellowstone did a study and found that four times as many people were injured or killed by Bison than by Bears. The Bison stopped between us. For a moment I was worried he was going to turn around and come at me .. No way I was going to back my car up the little twisting mountain road .. Luckily this guy finally got back in his car and the Bison and I continued down the mountainside.

Finally we got past the deep valley .. the road widened and the Bison pulled over for a lunch break .. I shot this out my passenger window at 45 mm. (35 mm. equivalent of 90 mm.) .. way closer than felt comfortable ..

Looking at my image I wonder about him .. those scars .. the little injury on his back leg ..

Bison were hunted to near extinction in the nineteenth century as part of a United States government program to starve the plains Indians. Bison have recovered to a stable population of around 350,000 (compared to an early nineteenth century population of 60-100 million).

I have head an incredible time to visit Custer State Park is at the end of September when they have their annual Buffalo round up .. see this video (real media_ .. or here .. for more information .. They round up the herd into the corral to run health checks on the animals and to keep the population at a sustainable level (excess animals are auctioned to private ranches).

After my close encounter with this fellow .. and one more resting with his back to me in some trees .. I never got the shot of the herd I was hoping for .. all the rest of the buffalo I met that day in herds were at about 800 meters ..

For more general information on the Black Hills see the note to my post Paha Sapa.

Some techinical information in this note from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bison

needless to say that map coordinates are a bit aproximate (at least it is the correct road).
vinu, jwmunro, asajernigan, gunbud, evanrizo, carper, JPlumb, Angelillo, kiwi_explorer, Silke, mvdisco, dgarr, bracasha75, isabela_sor, sined, leo61, plimrn, MP-Moller, xuaxo has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To pboehringer: I have seen wild herds in both British Coluplimrn 4 08-20 06:57
To pboehringer: yes ...jmcl 1 08-12 12:50
To Cretense: back ...jmcl 1 08-10 12:16
To kiwi_explorer: protectionjmcl 1 08-10 08:22
To asajernigan: close ...jmcl 1 08-08 19:14
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • vinu Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 36 W: 0 N: 11] (129)
  • [2007-08-08 16:00]

Fantastic shot, John.
Good lights and colours.
Thanks for the share.
Regards,

Hello John -

If it wasn't for the blur of the tail I would say this was a statue at the VC. Good composition and exposure. Well done!

Thank you for sharing.

John

John,
This is a fantastic shot! You are probably a little closer than I would want to be to this massive animal. We were this close in northern Kentucky but there was a fence between us and I still was a bit uncomfortable. The lighting and colors are great with excellent sharpness and detail. The workshops were great, I'm glad the guy got out of the way!
TFS,
Asa

  • Great 
  • gunbud Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 4607 W: 4 N: 4484] (20064)
  • [2007-08-08 19:19]

Hi John,
You have captured this majestic beast in all his glory. He appears to be in very good shape. The colors are very clear and the details very true to this American icon.
Regards, Tom

  • Great 
  • JPlumb Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 825 W: 200 N: 1011] (3125)
  • [2007-08-08 23:42]

Hi John, awesome shot, and your workshops really complete this. I have never seen a buffalo in the wild, and on the road yet (and don't care to see one quite as close as your buddy on the road). Excellent presentation all round.

Thanks, John

Hi John,
the workshops with the Tatanka on the road are wonderful. I know that they must cross the road, but using it is new for me. Wonderful capture of this big animal in all its mighty power. Very good note in addition to this, itself a worthful story.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

  • Great 
  • carper Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 9657 W: 445 N: 15935] (56364)
  • [2007-08-09 2:48]

magnificent John,
this is an important animal in the history of America. Well captured shot, good pov, good note and fine photojob here, well done John.
gr, jaap

Hi John.
They look majestic. I see they take also walks on the road !-:)
I see they have also small tail.
Nice clear photos with very good light.
TFS
Evan
I will come back

Hi John,
That is one imposing animal. This is what the American Indians hunt for food before .... one of this will feed the whole tribe for quite sometime. But I suppose they are now protected? Anyway, well captured and presented. Good image and color quality. Well done! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

Hi John,

I've seen the bisons only in the movies! Your shot is very interesting for me, because of great details, good colors and good context. It must be impressive to have this animal near. Great shot! Thanks.

Greetings,
Angel.

:-) Tomorrow.

Hi John!

Are you back from vacations or has TE become something like an addiction to you (as it has been for me?)?. Anyway, you keep posting amazing photos from the American landscapes and "wildlife" far from the "bright lights, big city" thing. What an amazing animal! Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

Hercules

  • Great 
  • Silke Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 617 W: 73 N: 835] (3017)
  • [2007-08-10 13:24]

Time to drop in only briefly, I'm afraid
I really love this stolid image of an even more stolid creature
Superb composition, colours and details
TFS
silke

Bonjour John,
Excellent catch and composition, beautiful naturel colors, Excellent point of view, Well done..
Michel
Many thanks for your comments on my picture: Sunset & Silhouettes an happy to put on your favorite.100

Hello John
One exellent present of this bison and very sharp shot,your note is extra to.
TFS
Cheers,Braca

  •      
  • Benedict Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1421 W: 0 N: 1458] (6566)
  • [2007-08-11 21:48]

i always relate the bison to that movie tittled "dances with wolves"..
well captured of this adorable mighty beast!
benedict
bacl late for the greens...

A very good documentary shot. Never saw this kind of animal beofre. Sothy

My God...he is huge!!!Seeing your WS now I can appreciate the real size of this impressive animal!!!Admire his calm,his silence,and I am sure he saw you there shooting :)Splendid wild scene and thank you for sharing
Isabela

John, quite impressive and massive this sample. It almost resembles a statue but than the blurr at the tail shows clearly that this is the real thing. There are unfortunately no bisons in CA. I saw some scattered during my Colorado Plateu last year. However, I dream to see a herd like the ones we saw in Kevin Costner's movie "Dancing with the wolfes". Any idea were to see such scenery?
Regards, Peter

  • Great 
  • sined Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 530 W: 0 N: 21] (4329)
  • [2007-08-12 12:44]

what an imposant meeting !

  • Great 
  • leo61 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3759 W: 373 N: 7867] (34426)
  • [2007-08-12 13:05]

Hi John!
Good shot of this majestic animal.Good sharpness and thanks for the well explaining note.As a child I`ve seen them often in an biganimal park of our town,but I have never been so close to one.
Regards,Leo

That is a huge animal:-) The bison has always been a favourite animal since the old Western movies.
Thanks John for showing me places and things I should take the time to visit in real life.

ps Thanks for the workshop too, hilarious:-D

  • Great 
  • plimrn Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3931 W: 232 N: 5367] (16878)
  • [2007-08-13 13:06]

Hi John,
I really thought I had critiqued this but I guess it didn't go through. This is one of the best buffalo shots I've seen; your excellent detail really shows the power of a buffalo. I have to agree with your favorite photo too. I laughed outloud when I opened it; yet the angle of the buffalo doesn't have nearly the impact of your PP. Your note is truly informative and funny too, a great read. Thank you again for the music referral. I'll get back to you after I hear it. HLJ, Pat

Hi John, A wonderful photo of this magnificent animal, clear & so close, I love both the workshops, they are great with it trotting down the road &, with the man taking a photo without looking, well I am glad that no one was hurt, I went to Yellowstone a few years ago with my wife & it was a fantastic experience, thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories, kind regards Wilson.

  •      
  • xuaxo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2666 W: 183 N: 2505] (4150)
  • [2007-08-19 5:53]

Hi John
Great, grand portrait of a tatanka. The workshops are also very interesting.

I had a colleague that's a strong man; we used to call him Tatanka :-)
Regards,
F

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