• Tagged American buffalo, animals, animals of Yellowstone, baby animals, bison, buffalo, National Park, wildlife, Yellowstone bison, Yellowstone National Park

Bison (American Buffalo) can weigh up to 2,000 lbs and can sprint or stampede at speeds around 30 – 40 mph. Bison can also jump 6 feet straight up in the air, over fences. They are wild animals in a domesticated setting at Yellowstone National Park, the only free-roaming herds of bison in the United States. There are about 4,000 American Buffalo at Yellowstone and despite the National Park Service warning visitors not to get too close, people get too tempted to capture that awesome photo and instead end up being gored. Yellowstone bison are also famous for ruling the roads, sometimes hip-checking, kicking or charging cars. With males being 2,000 pounds, there’s not much you can do other than wait them out if the bison are blocking the road. This is referred as the bison (or buffalo) traffic jam. Yellowstone National Park is the only place in the U.S. where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. Here’s a look at the bison of Yellowstone, buffalo traffic jams, and bison attacking cars and people. [55 Photos, 7 Videos]

• Tagged animals, animals of Yellowstone, bison, environment, Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem., grizzly bears, Yellowstone bears, Yellowstone bison, Yellowstone mammals, Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone wildlife

Not only is Yellowstone National Park the place to go for geysers, NPS said, “A mountain wildland, home to grizzly bears, wolves, and herds of bison and elk, the park is the core of one of the last, nearly intact, natural ecosystems in the Earth’s temperate zone.” There is such huge animal diversity because of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Regarding the mammals in the park, the 2013 Yellowstone Trip Planner (.pdf) states: “Keep your distance. Federal regulation requires you to stay at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves, and at least 25 yards (23 m) away from all other wild animals, such as bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes.” The Yellowstone National Park Service says of the wildlife, “Yellowstone is home to the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states. 67 different mammals live here.” These pictures show the diversity and a wide variety of magnificent animals of Yellowstone. [60 Photos]

• Tagged animals, arctic wolf, art, big bad wolf, bizarre, black wolf, Canis lupus, Eurasian wolf, folklore, gray wolf, howl, lycan, nature, red wolf, werewolf, wolf, wolf pup, wolves, Yellowstone National Park

Fear of the wolf –the predator–is woven into folklore, fairy tales, mythology, music, and art to depict wolves as villains. From the Brothers Grimm to present-day sci fi, wolves are infamous for gobbling up people, for huffing and puffing and blowing down houses, and for one of the most famous storybook scenes when the big bad wolf said to Little Red Riding Hood, “Ah the better to see you with, my dear. The better to hear you with, my dear. The better to eat you with, my dear.” But the big bad wolf reputation is totally undeserved as wolves rarely attack humans. Yet untold scores of wolves have been ruthlessly hunted, shot, poisoned or trapped because of how much humans fear these fascinating and beautiful animals. At one point, wolves had been hunted to near extinction. Now their numbers have rebounded due to conservation. Did you know that wolves don’t truly bark or howl at the moon, or that you have a better chance of being struck by lightning that being attacked by a wolf? [56 Photos]

• Tagged Castle Geyser, geyser, nature, photo, photograph, pic, places, rainbow, travel, Yellowstone National Park

The beauty of nature.