If truth be told, I had no idea what to expect when I headed out early Saturday morning to go watch the annual bison roundup on Antelope Island State Park.
This particular event has been on my bucket list for a while now, and for good reason, I might add.
It was quite an interesting show, to say the least, with hundreds of bison being gathered together and herded northward by hundreds of riders on horseback.
Each October, hundreds of people come together, some park employees and some volunteers, to take part in this yearly ritual in order to help manage the ever-growing herd of bison on the island.
Let me clarify something here, I say “manage the bison” because, well, that is exactly what it is.
(Visit Bird Shirts and More for stylish nature-themed apparel.)
(For a limited time, use coupon code save10 during checkout to save 10% off your entire order.)
Being as there are no large predators on Antelope Island big enough to hunt and feed upon the bison, these massive herbivores could easily overpopulate the island and literally eat themselves out of house and home, in a manner of speaking.
So, as a result, the state park has to artificially do what nature does in areas such as Yellowstone where predators, such as wolves, keep the bison population from growing too big for what the ecosystem could and normally would sustain.
This means that each year during fall, the bison on Antelope Island are rounded up and some of the animals are taken out of the herd, meaning they are sold at auction.
(Editors note: The number of bison that is offered at the annual auction on Antelope Island oftentimes can and does exceed 200 animals or more, it just depends on how productive the breeding seasons are each year.
According to auction result documents from the Utah State Parks website, 238 bison were auctioned off in 2020 for an estimated total of $304,832.
All the money gained from the annual bison auction goes back into the island habitat management efforts that support not only the bison but all the unique and interesting wildlife found on Antelope Island.)
It has been determined by the Antelope Island wildlife biologist that 500-550 bison or so is a sustainable number the island can support so any excess bison needs to be captured and removed each and every year.
This is where the annual bison roundup comes in, a very unique opportunity for the public to sign up and ride their own horses to help gather and herd the bison towards the corrals.
From what park management told me Saturday, this year over 260 riders on horseback, 200 from the public and 60 very experienced riders from the county posse, came together to ride the island from the southern tip northward to find, gather, and push this large herd of bison, made up mostly of cows, calves, and yearlings, to the corrals on the west side of the island where they can safely be worked over.
Now you might be wondering why this bison herd is made up of mostly cows, calves, and yearlings and where are the mature bulls during all of this.
Well, simply put, bison are what is termed a matriarchal type of animal, meaning the mother bison tends to and raises the calves, and the older, mature bulls only interact with the herd during the breeding season.
During the rest of the year, these big bulls stay pretty much to themselves or in small, loose groups on the west side of the island, far away from the main herd and the majority of bison on the island.
These particular bison, very large bulls that can weigh as much as 2000 pounds, over twice as much as a cow bison, aren’t rounded up due to safety concerns, meaning they can be quite temperamental and very dangerous so they are left alone.
After the actual roundup is what is called the “working of the bison” where around 100 people go through each and every bison from the roundup, determining which bison stays on the island and which will be sold at auction the following week.
The “working of the bison” is a 3-day event following the actual roundup open to the public for the opportunity to come and see more of what goes on during the annual bison roundup.
It is a great time for park visitors to actually get a close-up view of the bison, some being just a few feet away at times as they are herded down chutes and pathways between holding pens and workstations.
Yesterday, I went back to the island to get a better idea of just what “working the bison” entails, and I will go over more of that in a future blog post so let’s get back to the roundup for the time being.
During the annual bison roundup on Antelope Island, the public is invited and encouraged to come and view the event from the park roads.
Thousands of visitors come to line the main road on the east side of the island to watch hundreds of volunteer riders on horseback herd the bison northward.
At times, the bison are quite far off in the distance, but sometimes the bison and riders are close to the road.
It really just depends on where the bison decide to take their path as they are pushed northward.
Eventually, the bison are herded over the top of the large island and into the corrals waiting for them on the west side near the park headquarters.
All along the Garr Ranch road on the east side of the island, and along the west side of the island just south of the corrals, the public is invited to congregate and view the bison roundup from a safe distance.
This year, a large part of the bison herd was already on the northern portion of the island well before the roundup started, causing a temporary but welcomed traffic stop as they crossed the road.
All in all, it is quite an interesting event to come and witness in person.
Held annually during mid-to-late October each year, the Antelope Island bison roundup is open to the public to come view in person.
As of the writing of this post, the day fee to enter Antelope Island State Park is $15 per vehicle.
An annual state park pass is also available for $115 that allows entry to not only Antelope Island but all the other state parks in Utah.
Each year, I purchase the annual park pass as I visit Antelope Island twice per week year-round to view and photograph the wildlife and scenery and also to just get away and enjoy some solitude for a while.
If you are a fan of nature and the outdoors as I am, I offer you to head on over to my subscribe page and sign up for email notifications for future blog posts.
I also invite you to share any of our posts that you find interesting on your favorite social media outlets and I appreciate your readership and support for this website.
Birding Apparel
Use promo code save20 for 20% off this and all items in our online store Bird Shirts and More.
