Bison can run up to 35 miles per hour, and I’d imagine that top speed is usually reached when they are running for their lives like in this video.
Wolves have been known to hunt down bison, and often need a pack to take down just one of the big beasts. As you might imagine, bison are rather tough creatures and can be quite the challenge to bring down.
Predatory animals have the best bet to take down a bison when they can sequester one off on its own. Bison do practice that “herd mentality” that you’ve likely heard of, meaning that they will often stand up for one another in an effort to keep their entire group safe.
One of the ways bison avoid attacks is by “putting it into drive” and running as a herd. That strategy sometimes makes it easier for wolves, or whatever is chasing the large land animals, to get at least one bison to break away. But it didn’t work out that way for the hungry wolves this time.
A wildlife photographer had just started to set up when they saw and heard the stomping of a bison herd off in the distance. They rushed to get their equipment together and still managed to capture this extraordinary clip of nature’s battle between life and death in Yellowstone National Park.
They captioned the video with this, letting viewers know that the hunt didn’t end up bearing fruit (and by that I mean bison):
“I pulled over just in time to witness this chase. The hunt did not end up being successful. The majority of hunting attempts do not end in the wolves favor. They only have a 10-15% success rate.”
As you’ll be able to see, the wolves had managed to get one bison by itself, but the good news was that it had back up. Some other 2,000 pound beasts were running closely behind and likely helped the other bison out of the jam it found itself in.
It seems like one of the critical rules of a bison defense system is to just keep moving, even in the tall snow. A wolf, even a hungry one, isn’t going to step out in front of a rumbling herd of bison.
Take a look:
