Don't Pet the Fluffy Cows!

Everywhere you look in Custer and Custer State Park, there are bright yellow signs with the silhouette of a bison and the stern admonition, DON’T PET THE FLUFFY COWS.  We had been looking for the fluffy cows on a couple of our drives through the park, but had not seen them…nor any other wildlife except for an occasional prairie dog. 

A couple of days before leaving, we finally had a good weather forecast (no rain before afternoon), so I packed my camera and we set off to try one more time for wildlife photos. 

 We had success as right away, as we saw the herd of bighorn ewes and lambs. 

 

They were using the road along with the cars, and grazing among the campsites.  

We were also fortunate to see some of the park's pronghorns.  They were lounging beside the road, unconcerned about the cars streaming past.

A trip to the visitor center gave us information about where to look for the bison herds, and they were spot on.  A few minutes down the road, we found ourselves in the middle of the bunch.  

Fortunately, it is the beginning of the bison breeding season, so the bulls are mixed with the cows and calves, so we could see all of them.  (At other times of the year, the bulls generally keep to themselves. ) 

Today, though, there was plenty of courting going on, with the larger bulls sticking close to the most receptive cows and threatening other bulls that came too close.

This bull must have thought a dust bath would make him more attractive, but the lady seemed unimpressed.

We stopped, along with several other vehicles, because the bison had claimed the road.  As we sat there, one cow walked up to the car and began to lick the front grill.  I don’t know what she found so tasty unless it was the dead grasshoppers and other bugs stuck there. 

After a few licks, she rubbed along the driver’s side of the car, while Dutch, who was along for the ride, looked on, unconcerned, and John worried that she might “key” the side of the car with her horn.  

Not to worry, though, she just proceeded to the rear of the car and gave a few licks to the back bumper before sauntering away.  

Another of the park’s cows was looking very festive, with a tiara of leaves adorning her horn.  

She must have been one of the ones favored by the bulls.  Like several cows we saw, she had the tell-tale open wound on her flank left by the bull's dewclaws, as evidence that she had been mounted and bred.

  

It was a lovely morning, and we enjoyed our up-close-and-personal encounter with the fluffy cows, even though we didn’t pet one.