Hundreds of Yellowstone bison stampede across Lamar Valley

A photographer in Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday captured rare footage showing a bison stampede that involved hundreds of animals and lasted several minutes.

“I’m not sure what spooked these bison, if anything at all, but there was a legitimate stampede of hundreds of them today in Lamar Valley!” Trent Sizemore boasted via Facebook. “There were many more behind us coming from over the ridge as well.”

Bison have existed in what’s now Yellowstone National Park continuously since prehistoric times. Stampedes are not new, but park visitors rarely observe stampedes involving so many animals.

“I’ve seen some smaller herds running before, but not anywhere near that many,” Sizemore told ForTheWin Outdoors. “We watched them for probably five or six minutes before they settled down.”

Sizemore, a West Yellowstone-based wildlife photographer and workshop guide, said he captured his footage from 3/4-of-a-mile with an iPhone.

Yellowstone National Park is home to about 5,000 bison. They are the largest land animals in North America and adult males can weigh 2,000 pounds.

Lamar Valley, often referred to as the ‘Serengeti of North America,’ is one of the park’s top locations for observing bison and other large critters.