The bison arrived yesterday afternoon just as the sun was about to disappear over the horizon. The deliverers positioned the trailer as close to the pond as we could get, so they could have water if they needed it. When the trailer doors came open the bison stood in the trailer for
several minutes. They would move when they were ready, which was fine by
us. I'd rather they move on their own terms with less stress. Jess photographed the next few moments that led up to about an hour of chaos.
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| After few minutes of standing in the trailer, the first bison came bounding off. This started a chain reaction with all of the other bison following one at a time. You can the first bison on the far-right side of this photo. She has reached the electric fence and stopped to investigate it. |
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| Now the first bison has recognized the fence as a fence and started running along it toward the water. So far, things are okay. The rest of the bison are following her, though, the last ones out seem to be in a bit of a panic to avoid being left behind. |
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| Here's where things get dicey. The area between the trees and the fence is narrow and the lead bison are moving more slowly that the ones trying to catch up. |
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| At this point they really start to pile in there. Everyone wants to be with the herd, but there isn't enough room and they start to bump the fence. |
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| This last photos is when things really start to fall apart. Probably about half of the bison got pushed through the fence as they continued running towards the water. |
For about the next half hour the deliverers worked to get them back in the fence. Jess was able to take a few photos of them in them back inside.
Last night I barely slept. When I did sleep I had terrible dreams of elusive bison that could jump fantastic distances in one bound.
