Bison are massive, obstinate, and have no regard for the rules of the road. Even National Park Service (NPS) rangers struggle to overcome their stubbornness, as evidenced by a recent game of “Ring Around the Rosie” between a bison and a Park Service SUV in Yellowstone National Park.
A recent video shows a Yellowstone ranger using a proactive tailgating technique to clear a bison jam. A massive male bison was straddling both lanes on a two-lane road and seemed perfectly happy to hold its ground.
The ranger, in an NPS SUV, deftly maneuvered to the bison's backend and tried tailgating it off the road. The bison took a few steps out of the vehicle's path and stayed right where it stood.
The ranger had to turn around on the road to give tailgating another try. This time, the bull clearly wasn’t in the mood to be moved but stubbornly ambled to the side of the road.
Traffic resumed, but the bison stuck to the side of the road. Perhaps it was waiting for another opportunity to become a rustic roadblock.
It’s part of the Yellowstone experience, after all.
Unjamming The Jam
Bison jams are a frequent occurrence on the narrow roads running throughout Yellowstone. A solitary bison, an entire herd, or a napping calf can cause backups for many miles and several hours.
Max Waugh, a wildlife photographer who frequents Yellowstone, published his own guide on how to maneuver past and through bison jams on his website. The NPS hasn’t endorsed it, but Waugh has consulted Yellowstone rangers to ensure his strategies are safe and somewhat sanctioned.
“The indication I’ve received from the rangers was that what I’ve said is kosher,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “I want to make sure that I'm not misinforming or putting people in danger, but every indication I’ve received is that they’d say things along the same lines.”
Waugh said the tailgating technique used by the Yellowstone ranger in the video was new to him.
“I've never seen them do that before,” he said. “I've seen them flash their lights, sound the siren, scatter pebbles on the road, while not throwing them to hit the animal, but I've never seen them driving in circles to herd an animal off the road.”
Waugh advocates for proactive approaches to bison jams. He believes waiting for bison to move on their schedule is unnecessarily time-consuming and potentially dangerous.
“There are locals (from the gateway communities) trying to get through the park, and there are often emergencies that happen on these roads,” he said. “Most people say, ‘This is their place’ to move bison off the road while not acknowledging that there are human concerns as well.”
Don’t Try This At Their Home
Waugh wouldn’t recommend the tailgating/circling maneuver seen in the video to the average Yellowstone tourist. That’s best left to the professionals like the Yellowstone rangers.
“I obviously wouldn't condone this from a park visitor,” he said, “but it does show, at least, that even a big, moody bull bison will generally move out of the way of a vehicle.”
Yellowstone is renowned for its wildness, but that doesn’t mean the rules of the road should be disregarded. Bison are intimidating, and a herd of bison will usually outweigh any vehicle trying to herd them along, but they’ll always yield to traffic under duress.
Driving through bison jams is controversial, and Waugh has heard negative feedback from people who disapprove of his proactive approach. Nevertheless, he feels that breaking up bison jams is something that all Yellowstone visitors are entitled to try, provided it is done slowly and safely.
“Inching forward or driving slowly past bison, even when they’re on the move, works much better than most people expect,” Waugh said. “They will usually get out of the way of cars.”
However, if someone isn’t comfortable easing their vehicle into a bison roadblock, any ranger in the vicinity will likely take the initiative to get traffic moving again. They know when to go slow and when to give it the gas.
“As I said, I’ve never seen rangers driving in circles to move animals, but I have seen rangers pursuing a coyote at high speeds in an attempt to scare it off the road,” Waugh said. “People are rightfully sensitive about the wildlife and their needs, but I know people who were in a bison jam that lasted six hours. Many folks can’t kick back for hours and ‘soak in nature’ at 5 mph.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
