Charging Bison Herd Plays Game Of Chicken With Yellowstone National Park Tour Bus: “They’re Not Gonna Hit Our Vehicle, Are They?”

If there’s one thing you don’t want to get into a game of chicken with, it’s a bison herd.

Everyone knows the classic, who-gives-up-first test that the game of “Chicken” provides, right? I played it many of times as a kid, mostly in the swimming pool. Young whippersnappers really used to cut their teeth (both figuratively and literally) climbing on top of a friend’s shoulders and facing off against another towered pair. Am I bringing back memories for anyone else? No? Okay fine, I’ll just move on.

Chicken is a little bit different outside of the pool, as it is typically features two different forces moving towards one another to see who will “chicken out” first. If I ever found myself in a situation where bison were running right at me, I’d undoubtedly be the one that gives up. I don’t want any part of a head-on collision with a bison herd.

Somewhere around 5,000 bison call Yellowstone National Park home, and with most of them traveling in herds, encountering a large group like this isn’t out of the ordinary. However, having that knowledge doesn’t make this close encounter with 20 or so charging bison any easier to fathom.

Fully grown bison can weigh over 2,000 pounds, which means that collectively, this group of bison probably weighs about the same as the tour bus that’s stopped in its tracks on the snowy road. The massive beasts can also reach top speeds as fast as 30 miles per hour, and considering the conditions, I highly doubt the tour bus would be going any faster. Fortunately, it seemed as though everyone inside the bus was safe and sound – even if the bison stampeding right towards them stirred up a bit of fear inside the vehicle.

North America’s largest land animals are pretty intimidating on their own, but when they are parading down the snow-covered-roadway like they are in this video, they really can put the “fear of God” in someone. As you’ll hear when you press play on the footage below, those within the bus were both excited and slightly concerned watching the herd quickly cover ground and approach the parked bus.

You can even hear one woman ask:

“They’re not gonna hit our vehicle, are they?”

Famous last words, eh?

Most of the bison avoided making contact with the bus, and notice that I said “most.” One brave beast rammed right into what appears to be the front left (or back left, hard to tell which way the vehicle is oriented) portion of the tour bus. Those inside recording the incredible encounter could definitely feel the force of the bison… so I guess that means the bison stampede won the game of chicken?

I don’t know what these people were promised when they went on their Yellowstone National Park Bus Tour, but I can almost guarantee you that they didn’t expect to have a bison herd stampede right at them. Whatever they paid for the tour… this video below was well worth the price of admission.

Check it out:

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