Bison may look calm, but Ben Morris says appearances can be deceiving. He's the wildlife biologist for Antelope Island State Park.
"Bison, above else, are big. They are huge!" Morris exclaims. "You have to go back clear to the Pleistocene era to find an animal really that big, and that would be the short-faced bear. And he's even smaller than bison are today. These are animals that can go 35-40 miles an hour quickly."
Morris says many conflicts happen because people mistake a relaxed-looking bison for a friendly one.
"If a bison looks up at you and just looks at you, that's the first sign that you really need to know the bison is concerned about you and that they're not really acting normally," Morris says. "If they do really start to pay attention to you, and especially if they walk at you, that's a significant sign, and you need to back away."
He recommends being overly cautious with the oversized animals.
"Yellowstone asks for about 25 yards. I really do think that's too close," Morris says. "I wouldn't get within 25 yards of our bison. We usually hold our thumb up, take a look, and make sure the bison is contained within the sides of our thumb, and that can run out to about 75 to 100 yards."
Visitors should be especially cautious during the summer breeding season and in spring when calves are born. Bulls can become territorial, while mothers are highly protective of their young.
One common mistake? Trying to get the perfect photo.
"In fact, every problem we've had is the individuals walked up to the bison and the bison didn't realize the people were there," he says.
Morris says Antelope Island remains a safe place to experience wildlife — if visitors remember they're sharing the landscape with wild animals.
"Study the animals you're going to go look at, go out and enjoy them, and respect them, give them their space," Morris says. "It's much funner to go look at an animal when you understand what they are, what they do, what their needs are, and what you need to do to not be in conflict with them.
Bison are more than just Antelope Island's most recognizable residents.
They are architects of the landscape, helping shape the grasslands while connecting Utah to its natural history.
As more people visit the island each year, the responsibility falls on all of us to admire these animals from a distance — so they can remain wild, and so everyone can safely experience one of Utah's last truly untamed places.
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