Round ‘em up!

Story & Photos by 
Walter Sprague
Arts & Culture Reporter
 
On Friday, Custer State Park held its annual Buffalo Roundup. The purpose of the roundup is to brand and vaccinate the calves, but it also is used to size the herd to coincide with the estimated folliage available for the herd.
“Studies show that during normal moisture years, the park’s grassland can support about 1,400 head of bison,” herd manager Chad Kremer said in the 2020 publication, “Custer State Park, Tatanka.” “That number fluctuates depending on the rainfall and the available rangeland forage.”
Since the diet of the bison is not supplemented, and rainfall has been low, the herd is estimated to be about 1,200 to 1,300 head this year. The park is making an effort to build the herd back up to the 1,400 head they like to see.
Visitors from across the nation — and often from around the world — come to the park to witness the event. But according to visitor service manager Kobee Stalder, almost all the visitors this year are probably from the United States. Still, he estimated that the number has increased this year to well beyond 20,000 visitors.