I was in the Park fishing on the Firehole yesterday, and after a great day swinging soft hackles (one of my nicest fish of the year) we were provided a rare treat on Fountain Flat Drive. 

It was pretty late in the day, after the Baetis hatch was over and before the Caddis were out in force, and we were driving back out on Fountain Flat Drive.  A fairly large herd of bison had spent the afternoon in the area and appeared to be grazing contentedly. 

We spied three calves playing just by the road and stopped along with a few lucky other vehicles to watch. 

I have been involved with livestock for years living on a ranch near Kalispell with my family, and have been responsible for feeding and care of some very fine animals over the years.  I’m no bison veterinarian, but these guys looked healthy to my eye; they had some weight, with pretty healthy looking coats. 

I was even more impressed with the happy, spirited play of the calves.  They were clearly simply having fun – running, grunting, bumping around.  Animals are like humans in that they don’t spontaneously play unless they’re feeling pretty good generally. 

From what I hear from a ranger friend, bison calf recruitment was quite good this year, and they’ve faired well with the nice grass growth over the summer. 

These guys sure looked like that to me….

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