52 Rolls Week 39:52

Still Catching up on my posting……This week (and next) scenes from my recent road trip to South Dakota for the Bison Round-up.  The History of the Bison and the Indigenous people that relied on them for food is Tragic.  From 30 million Bison to less than 1200 by 1889. A few forward thinking people at the turn of the last century collected the last few ‘wild’ Bison and began the recovery.  Now we have close to 50,000 genetic Bison.  Only 5000 roam free.  The Bison we eat are actually Bison-Cow hybrids in most cases.

So At Custer State Park, a herd was started as a part of this movement to preserve all the nearly extinct wildlife in a game reserve (initially intended for hunting).  They maintain a herd of ~1500 Bison that roam free inside the Park.  They are rounded up in the fall for health check-ups and to sell off about 200 per year to maintain a sustainable herd in the 75,000 acre park.

There was a lot of waiting around, as we arrived at sunrise, but the Round up didn’t begin until 10:30.

Then they arrived.  The complete Round-up takes about 30 days.  But for one weekend they put on the Round-up show.

See more of the Bison Round Up Here.

Tech Info:  Minolta X-700 with Minolta MD 100-500 Zoom Lens; Portra 400 film, developed and scanned by Old School Photo Labs.