Elk Island National Park - Bison as far as the eye can see

Good day Hive!

With @silvergingerman's days off and feeling somewhat caught up on sleep from my recent insane work schedule, it was time to leave the house, I was begining to feel like a hermit! We decided to spend the day at one of our favorite local spot, Elk Island National Park. For those of you that has been following my photography, I talk plenty about this place and you are probably somewhat familiar with it's purpose, for those of you just recently joining ladybug's world, it's a Bison wildlife preserve that was established to protect what is left of this amazing wilderbeast from past over-hunting and large loss from bovine disease outbreak to near extinction. Elk Island is part of a breeding program that also ships smaller herds to be re-introduced to their natural habitat where they disappeared (Banff National Park re-introduction is part of this program)

Shot 1/125 sec. f/5.6 300 mm, SSO 800

Shot 1/500 sec. f/5.6 300 mm, ISO 200

The bison, traditionally referred to as buffalo is not a buffalo and not that similar in species although both in the bovine family. Bison is Alberta's traditional animal and food source along with prized in the fur trade within aboriginal culture for many centuries until the 1800's and early European settlers and pioneers came out west and unhealthy and wasteful hunting tactics were used that took the millions of heads that once roamed the western plains and almost wiped out the entire species bringing the numbers down to only a few hundred left. The wasteful way of hunting used what we call "Buffalo jumps" where they would corner the herd near a cliff and the entire herd would run and accidentally jump to their death trying to get away while being terrorized and cornered by hunters. Thanks to conservation programs like Elk Island, the Plain Bison are no longer an endangered species but they are far from thriving with most of them living in protected sanctuaries or farms. The same cannot be said about the Wood Bison with a few hundreds only remains and don't seem to reproduce as well and quickly as it's close cousin due to the lack of genetic diversity. It was once believed they went extinct but a small herd was found, put under protection and the species was able to somewhat recover slightly.

Shot 1/250 sec. f/5.6 300 mm, ISO 720

Shot 1/320 sec. f/5.6 300 mm, ISO 400

Last time we went was a rather disappointing experience, most of the park and trails were closed except for the main road because of covid but today made up for it by a long shot! As soon as we handed over our annual Parks Canada pass and drove away, there they were! A big herd of over 50 was just grazing and lounging around in the field next to the road...JACKPOT! Some days they can be elusive for such a large creature and we generally have to find them instead of such an easy loot for the camera and I didn't even have to risk getting caught mid-trail by a herd with nowhere to hide if things go sideways like a few years ago when 4 of them popped out of the woods right in front of me (like 20 feet away). The area is called Bison Loop, I always look there but only once in 15 years have I ever seen them in that spot until today, I usually have better luck hiking to Tawayik Lake. For those of you not familiar with the park, we share the trails with the wildlife and anywhere you go there could be some bison roaming around, all wildlife run free within the boundaries.

Shot 1/500 sec. f/5.6 300 mm, ISO 200

Shot 1/640 sec. f/6.3 300 mm, ISO 200

Tawayik Lake has been closed all summer and when we asked the attendant about trail closures, she informed us that Bison Loop wasn't available either and blocked off while they take care of an invasive weed species so we thought we might be out of luck to find a herd. How wrong were we since they decided to hang out in front of the closed loop, almost like they knew I was coming for them and they had to make up for last time's bitter disappointment! In the summer, they spend most of their days hidden in the woods because of the heat. In the evening is the best time for sightings, they move closer to fields and open areas to get away from mosquitoes and other bothersome insects. Here is a quick video taken at arrival.

At first, they were a bit further into the distance but it was clear they were eating their way towards the road, all I really had to do is sit there in the truck and wait for them to move towards us. If you let the wildlife come towards you with patience, the encounters are much safer unlike surprise encounters as they chose their own "safe distance". We watched them for several hours while other visitors came and went, we were parked at a viewing area so no need to even disrupt traffic or move at any point...Just enjoy the show we got blessed with. We noticed 3 calves and a yearling in the herd, a bit older then what I have been looking for but precious nonetheless, baby animals of any kind are so adorable.

Shot 1/250 sec. f/5 170 mm, ISO 720

Bison rut season is generally from mid July to early September, we were just in time to catch the last bit of rut action for the first time. Like any other wildlife, they become more aggressive and territorial during rut season so more caution than usual has to be taken when they are near-by just like calf season. Gestation period is the same as humans for 9 months and the calf will be born anywhere from March all the way to June. At birth, a calf can weight anywhere between 30 to 70 lbs. Bison cows generally only have one calf per pregnancy but the possibility of twins isn't out of the question. A female will start breeding at around 2 years old to have her first born at the age of three and will breed a calf every year until the age of 15 but she can live up to 40 years. Protecting the calves is a task shared by the herd, not just the mothers.

Shot 1/500 sec. f/5.6 300 mm, ISO 220. 2 bulls fighthing it out.

Also part of rut activities, smelling female behinds.

Males on the other hand, are fertile as a yearling but in the wild, the older males will not allow them to breed until they become a prized dominant bull at around 8 years old and can lose up to 10% of their body weight because of the intense fighting and activities. Males have half the life span of females with living an average of 20 years. The sharp reduction in life expectancy is due to violent disputes during rut season. From my observation, they seem to have a tight hierarchy with a few really large bulls tasked with protecting the herd and can be seen by themselves on the perimeter of the herd watching for any disturbances or threats.

When I am around bison, that is who I pay the most attention to and the body language displayed. Knowing their body language is important because they can be quite unpredictable and there is obvious signs when they become irritated with human presence. They may look large, slow and clumsy but they can run up to 35 miles per hour, jump over a 6 foot fence and are quite agile...not exactly what you want charging at you. Weighting anywhere from 1000 to 2000 pounds and being the largest land mammal in North-America, they are as impressive and intimidating as they are beautiful. In my experience, most encounters, even the accidental ones on trails are generally event free but I did get a mock charge once less than an hour after a jogger ran up to one not noticing it was there and he got gored so the danger is still very real.

Shot 1/125 sec. f/5.6 300 mm, ISO 900

If you look closely, there is a bison being silly rolling around in the dirt.

As we were getting ready to head to Astotin lake for a sunset, they started moving into the road blocking the way like they didn't want me to leave and boxed us in...Some were in the middle of the road bringing traffic to a standstill while others were grazing 10 feet away from my passenger window. There was only one thing left to do, pop out the sunroof and keep enjoying the show. One of the protectors was up on a small hill right next to me as we stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity but realistically we couldn't go anywhere even if we wanted to with the road blocked. What a close-up photography opportunity! The closest I have ever been to so many of these majestic creatures, so close that I could even smell their stench. Eventually, the road cleared just long enough for us to slowly pass and give them their space. Here is an iphone video below the photos I took while they were next to me.

Shot 1/125 sec. f/5.3 240 mm, ISO 1000

Shot 1/125 sec. f/5.6 300 mm, ISO 1100

Shot 1/200 sec. f/5.6 300 mm, ISO 800

On our way to Astotin Lake, we found a few more areas with small groups of 4 to 5 grazing near the road, in total, we must have seen over 70 different bison...What a day! Nature keeps on giving! We finally made it to our destination and it only took like 3 hours to get to the lake from the entrance of the park...record for the slowest up and down of the park ever! The whole point of the day trip was to find a couple of bison but we like to end the day at one of the popular common areas to catch a glimpse of the most photographed sunset in the Edmonton area. Astotin Lake is generally busy but this time, they were no line ups of photographers on the shore to capture the fiery skies, there was no canoe rental because of covid so everyone has to bring their own, there wasn't so many on the lake. People on canoes help fill the void and add silhouettes for fun sunset photos, I guess I'll have to do without this time. Our long days feel like they fell off a cliff with the sunset now being at 8 pm. I was surprised how cold it had suddenly gotten especially near the lake.

Shot 1/250 sec. f/8 18 mm, ISO 200

Shot 1/1000 sec. f/8 78 mm, ISO 100

The colors weren't as intense and didn't last as long as they normally do but I still got a few nice shots but then I ran back to the truck because I was shivering too much for photography. It was time to call it a day. We sat there and watched the rest of the fast sunset and went on our way. Winter is coming fast, we can feel it in the air. Fall colors are replacing the greens, the writing is on the wall. It rained for the first half of summer, almost feels like we hardly got a summer at all for the third year in a row but I at least got to get out a bit and take in some nature even if it was just for the day. We may not have gone to Jasper like @silvergingerman originally wanted but this quick day trip was an experience of a lifetime, I still can't get over the head count and how close the bison got. I have to admit, it was a little scary and intimidating but so worth the uneasy feeling!

Shot 1/1600 sec. f/10 78 mm, ISO 100

Shot 1/1000 sec. f/8 78 mm, ISO 160

Even tho they came fairly close, I wish I had more range on my lenses so I could have gotten better shot of certain moments like the bull fight. For part of it, there was another photographer and he had my dream lens, a 200-500 mm. I use a 300mm for most of my tele-photography and feel limited. I have been dreaming about that lens since my first camera but it's like $1750 CAD and always had a hard time to convince myself to buy it especially after deciding to upgrade my decade old camera in the next couple of years with a different lens mount. I have decided it's time to bite the bullet after today, I will buy it before we take our next trip to the Rockies, it will also help with my bird photography for next year. It would become my most used lens in no time and I will just use an adapter when I upgrade my camera, I highly doubt I'll be giving up photography anytime soon. Why does photography have to be so expensive!

Shot 1/500 sec. f/5.6 116 mm, ISO 320

Shot 1/2000 sec. f/6.3 200 mm, ISO 280

All images taken with Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 70-300mm lens.

Hope you are all having a great week-end! Cheers! X 🐞X