A snowstorm in June didn’t even faze these Yellowstone bison.
Though a heatwave is hitting a majority of the United States, it’s still a winter wonderland out west at Yellowstone National Park. The peak of winter in the world famous national park typically plays out in January. It’s during that time that Yellowstone experiences brutally cold temperatures with average lows right around 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
Obviously, that usually translates into any precipitation that hits the area being snow, and makes for a tough test for any animal that’s not hibernating during that time. But for the most part, it was a mild winter in Yellowstone National Park this past year. Temperatures didn’t dip down as low as they normally do, so the animals that call the park home didn’t have it too bad.
That being said, it’s almost as if all of that snow that Yellowstone would normally get in the winter has been spread out through the spring and early parts of the summer. Though we haven’t officially reached the first day of summer yet (that comes on June 21), many consider the start of June – or even Memorial Day – as the date that kicks off the hottest season of the year.
Crazily enough, it hasn’t been all that hot at Yellowstone National Park just yet. In fact, there was actually a snowstorm that rolled through there just yesterday. Josh Gauntt, a journalist at WBRC, shared footage from Yellowstone which showed a handful of bison standing in the June snow and not minding it one bit.
Check it out:
Nothing like a snowstorm in June, eh? It’s something that most of the United States doesn’t have to worry about… but in Yellowstone, it’s always possible.
Though these bison looked to be holding up fairly well in the wintry precipitation, I would assume the large animals were probably hoping that the worst of the snow and cold weather was behind them. Why do I say that? Well, it has to do with how their coats are always adapting to the time of the year.
As bison head into the winter season, their coat thickens up to counter the frigid temperatures and blankets of snow that often fall in their North Americans habitats. Those wooly coats play an intricate role in keeping them warm through the winter, and create such a layer of insulation that snow that it’s believed that anything landing on their coat will not melt from the heat the bison’s skin gives off.
Pretty crazy, right?
That being said, these bison likely started thinning out their coats around March. That’s just their natural process (thicken up before winter, thin out as it warms up). So though bison are built to withstand some of the harshest weather that could ever be thrown at them, it’s possible that this grouping was at least a little bit chilly… just because this snow hit in June.
And they aren’t out of the woods just yet when it comes to winter weather. The lows in Yellowstone are still expected to dip down around freezing until about the middle of the month. After that, things should be warm and pleasant in the national park. The only problem? That’s when the tourists really start to flock to Yellowstone, and “tourons” always seem to be messing with bison.
If I had to guess, the bison would probably rather worry about snow than tourists trying to take selfies with them.
