Buffalo make for wild experience in S. Dakota
CUSTER STATE PARK, S.D. — It was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. After what seemed like hours waiting for something to happen, the seismic shaking of the earth signaled the main show was about to begin.
Riders on horseback fanned out across the top of the hill, while below in the valley the rest of us in rack trucks waited for our cue. As if a director had yelled, “Action,” 1,300 American buffalo came careening down the hill, with both riders and trucks taking up their positions to help herd them into corrals.
Welcome to the Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup. In this western South Dakota annual event, the shaggy bison are interrupted from their usual noshing on the park’s lush grasslands and rounded up for several days of sorting, branding, testing and tagging.
With one of the largest American bison herds in the world, park staff use the roundup to keep the population in balance with available land and resources — checking them out thoroughly before returning most of them to their grazing a few days later.
Our group’s driver volunteered that sometimes the bison get pretty ornery and refuse to cooperate. This year the herd was downright docile. In no time they were safely corralled, and participants and spectators headed off for a chuck wagon lunch of brisket and beans.
I was among a group of journalists invited to the roundup. While the general public isn’t allowed in the thick of things as we were, you can stake out a spot for optimal viewing as the herd comes thundering down the hill. About 14,000 folks attend every year. If you want to make plans for next year, the roundup is always held on the last Friday in September, which in 2019 is the 27th; www.travelsouthdakota.com.