American Bison Cow and Calf, Wildlife Loop Road, Custer State Park

Bison cow and calf grazing in grassland at Custer State Park, South Dakota.
Bison cow and calf grazing in grassland at Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Custer State Park's bison herd numbers around 1,300 animals, one of the largest publicly held herds in the world. Wildlife Loop Road, an 18-mile stretch through the park's mixed-grass prairie and ponderosa pine forest, is where visitors most often encounter the herd grazing or crossing the pavement. Calves are born in the spring, typically April through June, and stay close to their mothers through the summer months. Each September the park rounds up the herd on horseback, a practice started in 1965 to manage the population and check the animals' health.

Photo taken in July 2019.

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