A bison herd in Yellowstone National Park channeled its fear and frustration over a fallen member into a small stampede that put some tourists in their path.
The stampede sent people scurrying across the road in the Hayden Valley last week, while wildlife photographer Jeff Vanuga captured the incredible incident, which sent bundled-up tourists running off the road and behind vehicles for safety.
“Instead of running the opposite way, the bison ran towards everybody watching them,” he said. “They threaded their way through a few vehicles, snowmobiles, and at least 50 people watching everything that morning.”
One Of Their Own
The stampede happened near the Grizzly Overlook in Hayden Valley. Vanuga was leading a tour for Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris when they spotted the Wapiti wolf pack stalking a nearby bison herd.
“Nobody had seen them since Jan. 5, so we got there to Grizzly Overlook as early as we could and saw the wolves from the east side of the Yellowstone River,” he said.
The tour group was enthralled watching about 18 wolves separate a bison calf from the herd, using the deep snow to close the distance and take it down. The rest of the bison started running and didn’t stop.
“They started making their way up the road,” Vanuga said of the rest of the herd. “Many of us thought the wolves were behind them, so we just stood at Grizzly Overlook. Then, the bison came up on the crest of the road, which we couldn't see down the road. Everybody thought they were going to run the other way.”
But they didn’t run the other way. The agitated bison ran straight toward the crowd of spectators.
Stampede!
Around 10 bison, worked into a frenzy by the wolf attack, kept charging down the road toward Grizzly Overlook. As soon as everyone realized they were in the path of the stampede, they scattered.
People hurriedly got off the side of the road, or many got behind their coaches,” he said. “It was properly handled by the guides, drivers, and the individual people.”
Vanuga captured an image of one of the bison hurtling toward a line of tourists and a snow coach standing in the middle of the road (once he was safely out of its way). That bison took a sudden and unexpected turn directly toward the crowd, churning up a cloud of snow in its charge.
“You could see where it saw them at the last minute and cut diagonally across the parking lot towards them,” he said. “It was one of those situations where something turns up, which was completely unexpected.”
Nobody was injured in the unexpected stampede, and Vanuga was adamant that no one was at fault. When he posted a photo of the incident on Facebook, many comments suggested the image belonged in the group Yellowstone – Invasion of the Idiots, which he said wasn’t the case.
“All kinds of comments are coming up on Facebook that the people weren't behaving themselves or whatever,” he said. “Nobody did anything wrong. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Everybody behaved themselves.”
Stimulus, Response
Bison charge. It’s part of their nature, which Vanuga attributes as the cause of the sudden stampede he and many others narrowly avoided.
“You can always find bison running down the road for no reason whatsoever,” he said. “They just feel their oats and start running. Nothing’s chasing them.”
For Vanuga, the bison stampede directly resulted from the sudden and successful wolf attack. Their instincts kicked in, and they went in whatever direction they decided to go.
“I attribute that little stampede to that situation that was going on below,” he said. “I've seen wolves push animals up towards the road, and bison can stampede. I haven’t seen bison running toward people before, but in this case, they were really hyped up because of the wolf attack.”
Jeff Vanuga of Dubois, Wyoming, captured a remarkable sequence of a wolf pack taking down and devouring a bison, then the bison's herd getting upset and charging people on a nearby road. (Courtesy Jeff Vanuga) 
Jeff Vanuga of Dubois, Wyoming, captured a remarkable sequence of a wolf pack taking down and devouring a bison, then the bison's herd getting upset and charging people on a nearby road. (Courtesy Jeff Vanuga) 
Jeff Vanuga of Dubois, Wyoming, captured a remarkable sequence of a wolf pack taking down and devouring a bison, then the bison's herd getting upset and charging people on a nearby road. (Courtesy Jeff Vanuga) 
Jeff Vanuga of Dubois, Wyoming, captured a remarkable sequence of a wolf pack taking down and devouring a bison, then the bison's herd getting upset and charging people on a nearby road. (Courtesy Jeff Vanuga)
Once In A Lifetime
Once the shock of the stampede wore off and the adrenaline was still pumping, everyone was ecstatic about the experience. It became the highlight of their winter expedition into Yellowstone.
Vanuga said it all started with the Wapiti wolf hunt.
Everyone wanted to see wolves that morning, but no one expected to see a successful hunt.
“Wolves usually hunt at night,” he said. “For people to see that within a quarter mile of Grizzly Overlook was quite the sight.”
The wolves spent the next four hours devouring the bison calf to the thrill of the spectators. Vanuga returned to the spot over the next week to watch the carcass get dismembered and scattered across the area.
“Every critter in the neighborhood was on it — coyotes, eagles, and ravens,” he said. “When they got done with it, it was picked clean. By the next day, there was absolutely nothing left. Even the bones were gone. The only thing left was the head and fur scattered everywhere.”
Meanwhile, Vanuga’s tour group was beside themselves with excitement over the gruesome scene and how they had to go suddenly scampering to avoid the stampede.
“I kept hearing, ‘Once in a lifetime,’” he said. “Folks were stoked. Anytime you can get a few pictures of wolves or be in a situation like that, it's pretty exciting. It made their week, despite the danger.”
However, Vanuga acknowledged that the situation could have become much more dangerous. If someone had not acted appropriately, a serious injury could have occurred.
“Something worse could happen,” he said. “If that last bison decided to go straight, it would’ve gone quite differently. But, like I said, I think everyone handled it properly.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
