Frontier and His New Friend

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Frontier and His New Friend

Hello everyone! Earlier this week, I hiked out and located Frontier and his band. I had not seen them for a while, so I was excited to spend some time with them. The only problem was they had bison herds on either side of them. I managed to work my way around the first group, but the second was pretty close to the band. As I stood there wondering how this would work, the second group began to move away from Frontier’s band. This created a gap for me to use to my advantage. I quickly moved to a safe location where I could photograph the horses and be out of the way of any bison. The majority of the bison laid down for a nap, but the big bull stood watch. The horses peacefully grazed, all while moving closer and closer to the bison. At one point, I looked over to see the bull had moved about 10-15 feet behind Frontier.
Generally, the horses and bison can coexist nicely in the same area, and this day was no different. However, the sheer size of the bull next to Frontier made me nervous for him. I could see Frontier periodically turn his ears back to listen behind him as the bull moved closer. He didn’t seem to have any interest in hurting Frontier. After about five minutes, Frontier was no longer comfortable with his newfound buddy eating so close to him, and he moved away. That is when the bull started to move in my direction, stopped, and just stared at me. While occasionally having to maneuver around bison in the Park, I have learned that when a bull stares at you for a while, there is a very good chance he wants to be where you are standing. Since this is his home and not mine, I took the hint and quickly moved back over to the wash I had crossed. Sure enough, as soon as I left my spot, he moved to where I had been standing. His girls followed him, and they all continued towards the second bison herd. I took a few photos of Frontier and the bull to show you a comparison of the two. I will share more of Frontier and his band soon. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Frontier takes notice of the large bull bison coming up behind him. Frontier seems a little nervous but decides it is alright to stay put.

The two of them graze together for a brief time.

His parting shot to me before I moved out his way. ?