The ride started early, as we had been advised to be there when the gates opened. That's because the animals will be out of view under the trees when it gets hot later in the day. So we entered the refuge at 6:30 a.m. before the sun came up. In fact, the sun was just peeking over the hill as we started the twenty mile loop through the refuge.
As we climbed in elevation, it was fun to watch the valley wake up to the first rays of sunlight.
It was on one of those golden hills that we made our first wildlife sighting of the day. That's a bull elk giving us a side view of his rack as he makes his way up the mountain. He's tiny in the center of the picture, but it looks like he's a big boy up close.
We got a more closeup look of a different buck as we came around a curve. This was a deer buck, showing off his velvety rack this morning. The cool weather meant him and his buddy were out in the open, nibbling tender tree leaves right after dawn.
We had the road to ourselves, so we could stop to take pictures or survey the hills around us. That's why we had the time to spot this dark figure among the tall grass.
Seeing the silhouette of the up-right ears is one of the easiest way to tell that this is a black bear. He was making his way up the hill right in front of us.
Not far away, we got a close-up of a mule deer, watchful for lurking black figures in the grass.
Even though it's August, we are still seeing plenty of young fawns.
There are only two trails inside the wildlife refuge. Of course we had to hike both. This one gave a vista view of the slopes around us. But the smoke from the fires in Montana made this a hazy viewpoint this morning.
Denisa's in the middle of the trail in the picture below. She's looking both ways, as she knows there are bears in these hills this morning.
Back to the car, we were driving with the windows down on this cool morning. This allowed for better views around us. We found out that this also helped us hear better. As we passed this grassy area, we heard a distinctive sound.
Mark backed the car up for a better view. Only separated by a car door, Denisa was uncomfortable looking directly down at this rattling rattlesnake ready to strike at the passenger side door. On the other hand, Mark was out of the car to get a better look at this guy.
This wildlife refuge in northern Montana reminded us of the safaris we took in South Africa. Several years ago we drove a rental car through the gravel roads of Africa's Kruger National Park, amazed at the next group of wildlife we would spot. Now here in the United States, we rounded another gravel curve and found this group of female antelope.
There was only one male in the group, showing off the rack that gives them the name of pronghorn antelopes.
It was interesting to watch the movements of the herd. The one male kept herding the group of females, keeping them in a tight cluster as they grazed across the prairie. He wasn't grazing much himself, as it took most of his time watching over his harem.
Just a short distance further down the road we found a bachelor herd of pronghorns. These guys were relaxing, as they weren't enjoying the company and responsibilities of the females.
Suddenly across the golden prairie we saw a dark head pop up, and then disappear again in the grass. This happened over and over as we watched two coyotes making their way across the tall grass, pouncing on small rodents for breakfast.
It was about this time that we saw our first vehicle on the road. It looked like the rest of the world was finally waking up on this two-way section of the loop. We also spotted our first lone bison here in the Bison Range Refuge.
We watched as this big guy ambled right by our car, giving us a close-up view.
We watched as he got to a dry patch of dirt, and then clumsily laid down and started rolling. We got a picture of him with his legs up in the air, wallowing in the dust on his back.
Just as clumsily, he got back to his feet. The dust was still flying around him from his wallow in the dirt.
He did that several times as he progressed across the open plains section of this huge wildlife refuge.
We wondered why the car we met had passed this lone bison so quickly, while we watched his every movement until he rambled out of sight. Coming from our direction, he was our first bison sighting. But over the hill from the direction the car had just traveled, bison were everywhere!
They were even causing traffic jams as they meandered across the road. It's now 9:30, and we are finally joined but several other cars on the road this morning.
We are enthralled by these massive beasts that amble so close to the car.
In this sizable herd there are also mothers and their young calves.
Yearlings are just now beginning to sprout horns.
We noticed there was a lot of running and jousting happening in the herd. We saw the dust fly as big males were butting heads with each other.
When this duel started right beside our car, we got a front row seat to the fight for dominance among the males in this herd. We also realized that these guys had no clue we were so close, and could have easily backed right into our car.
We discovered that we had arrived during the bison rut season, where males are wearing themselves out to impress the ladies of the herd. At the visitor center we read that males can lose 100-200 pounds for all their extra efforts during this time of the year. This big guy is obviously pooped, standing with his tongue hanging out.
The first bison we had encountered had obviously peeled off this group. Perhaps he hadn't fared well in the head butting matches. We watched as another herd made their way across a creek running through the valley. It was fun to imagine the number of bison that once roamed this part of the country.
Before we left the refuge, we got into more traffic jams as more vehicles entered the park. We were so glad we took the advice to come here early. We enjoyed the cool temperatures with the animals, and had the freedom to stop for as long as we wanted along the road without other cars around. Being the first car inside the park also meant that the animals were in their natural environment, undisturbed by visitors for the day.
The visitor's center was open now. As we made our way there, we got this great view of another pronghorn antelope. He's another lone male, roaming the prairie by himself.
We totally enjoyed our slow drive through the National Bison Range Wildlife Refuge, even though we were disappointed that we missed seeing any of their resident mountain sheep. Also, our only view of the elk herd was the single buck on the hillside when we first arrived. As we made the circle back to our campground, we stopped at the scenic viewpoint on the highway to see the refuge from that angle on the outside of the fence. There we saw the elk herd in the far distance. They are only dots in the picture below, but we counted over sixty of those dots. So we can report that the elk herd is also alive and well inside the refuge.
It was a great morning, and we now have a new favorite wildlife refuge. We can highly recommend the National Bison Range Refuge, as well as our camping spot in nearby Ronan, Montana.
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