comment: >
  
  You are correct. No one is talking about the driver. Bison are huge animals and this was a horrific accident. I can almost guarantee the driver has injuries from this.
context: I walked with a heard in Wyoming and got the sense that they would fuck up a car that hit them. How did 13 die? >
  
  Apparently it was a large semi-truck >
  
  Like a semi-semi >
  
  A quarterly >
  
  Pickups actually used to be called by how much payload they could carry. So you had half, three-quarter, and one ton.
  They’re still called that of course, but even a half ton these days can carry a ton. And a one ton pickup can carry 3 and a half with duallies. 
  Random tangentially related truck fact of the day. Course I think there’d have been a slightly better outcome if they’d been hit by 2 to 5 tons of pickup as opposed to 18 to 40 tons of semi :/
  Edit: was a bit high with some of the weights and it bugged me. >
  
  This is why I hate it when people still use terms like half ton for modern pickups. >
  
  What bugs me more is the dearth of pickups with an 8ft bed. I’d swear that most of the ones I see are mall crawl specials with a crew cab, stupid lift, and a bed you couldn’t fit a damn thing in.
  Is it still a pickup if it’s the bastard love child of a pickup and an SUV? >
  
  Frankly, I'm just happy the population is back up to stable numbers, fwiw. >
  
  The federal government actively culls bison around Yellowstone. >
  
  Wow, that population must've really bounced back if they're over populated their. >
  
  There's bison in several places around where I live, including a state park. Every few years the park auctions some off to keep the numbers low enough for the area. You can buy ground bison at Walmart and it's in plenty of dog food brands.
  The only reason they almost went extinct is because we were actively trying to make that happen. >
  
  The near extinction of Bison was just a part of the native-american genocide at the time.
  Glad they bounced back. >
  
  Uh, the native americans did not bounce back. >
  
  I ment the Bison. >
  
  this is exactly why i don't think bison should be allowed to drive >
  
  What next? Bison no longer allowed to own firearms? This is a slippery slope down authoritarianism. >
  
  It’s bear arms, not bison arms. >
  
  That’s two right bear arms, be specific! >
  
  What am I supposed to do with these all these arms now??? >
  
  Bear with it >
  
  ok, that bearly passes as a good joke >
  
  If it is a newer semi there likely was a dashcam in it. I can only imagine what that footage looks like. >
  
  Older ones too. The insurance companies mandate it since brake checking semis for a fat insurance payout is apparently a thing now. >
  
  Holy shit I would not brake check a semi for any amount of money, anyone that does clearly do not regard their own life (or others)very highly. >
  
  Don't worry I did some quick math for you guys since it seems like some people are confused how a semi could destroy 13 bison.
  According to Google the average male bison weighs 1,000 - 2,200 pounds. 
  The maximum weight an 18 wheel semi can be is 80,000 pounds loaded. Empty with the trailer they come in around 35,000lb.
  Let's assume the bison were all healthy males at 2,200 pounds. 
  2,000*13=28,600lb for all of the bison combined.
  Just for fun we can assume the semi wasn't carrying a full load. Let's say the semi was somewhat full and weighed 60,000 pounds. 
  60,000 pounds traveling at a rate of 60mph beats 28,600lbs of meat standing in the road every day. Even if the semi was unloaded with an empty trailer the semi still wins.
  Pro Tip: give those semis on the road plenty of room when you merge in front. They are hauling some serious weight! >
  
  And according to another comment the speed limit was 65 so let's not assume the truck driver was doing something crazy.
  Edit for clarity: going 65 in a semi would be hard to stop. It's not like it was a 25 mph road he was going 70 on. >
  
  The driver should've been going slower than the speed limit due to the road conditions. >
  
  Even at 40mph (frequently posted as minimum speed on freeways around the country) it would be difficult to stop in time under adverse conditions. >
  
  I agree that it would be hard to stop in those conditions even at a slower speed, and even more so for a semi to stop quickly enough to avoid the collision. It's just a really awful situation all around. I'm sure the driver feels awful. >
  
  Wow not a good month for Buffalo of any type. >
  
  Hey the Bills are good >
  
  Until they come to the jungle on Monday. 
  Who Dey! >
  
  innocent bisonders, one and all >
  
  When I was in Yellowstone a bison mother and her child ran down the road between the two lanes of somewhat backed up traffic. Was pretty surreal to both be that close to one (intentionally putting yourself at that distance would just be pure stupidity) and to have the contrast of nature and modern technology.
  Visiting Yellowstone is a strange experience because you are constantly annoyed by the amount of people/traffic but it's pretty much impossible to experience everything the park has to offer without being part of the problem. It was still a borderline life changing trip for me, the diversity that exists there is mind blowing. One moment you are hiking thru a forest like many you have experienced before and next you are in a bubbling sulfuric wasteland that doesn't even feel like earth. Funny enough no matter where you are you WILL find bison poop. >
  
  "Her child" ? Tell me you're a city slicker without saying you're a city slicker. >
  
  Lol I just think "child" works better story telling wise. Doesn't take a wildlife biologist to know it's called a calf. >
  
  1 to 3, I can see. For 13 of them to be killed or seriously injured enough to be euthanized, that truck driver had to have been driving wayyy too quickly. If that is the case, I hope they get appropriately punished/fined. >
  
  Fully loaded trucks can do a lot of damage and even at the speed limit they can not stop if something darts in front of them, way too much momentum. I'm not saying that is the case for every one of these, but, now you have some more information. >
  
  Do bisons dart? >
  
  They sometimes linger near roads and make a bad choice if one of the herd is on the other side and they want to be on that side too, so they make the unfortunate choice of trying to cross. >
  
  Bison are dumber than turkeys. >
  
  That’s definitely not true but they’re along the lines of cattle. >
  
  Well, my neighbor must have gotten a bad batch. >
  
  Jesus, that's awful. I didn't even know that Bison could drive. >
  
  I guess those bison weren't wearing seatbelts >
  
  I hope the make use of the meat. That's a lot of Bison. >
  
  Poor bisons. What a tragedy. :( >
  
  Pretty fucked up. And on New Years Eve no less. RIP Bison >
  
  The accident didn’t happen on New Years Eve. It happened on Wednesday. And I don’t think the Bison knew what year it is. >
  
  Of course not, they are dead. >
  
  They said "knew", not "know" though >
  
  You can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd and apparently you can't drive in one either. >
  
  On the same stretch of road that this happened, I watched a herd of bison give a subaru one hell of a workover. We were driving to west yellowstone, and came up behind a herd of bison walking in the road, and so we slowed down and followed them. A subaru came up behind us, passed us, and started trying to push through the herd. The bison were hip checking the car so hard that the car would shift to the side each time. I'd bet the car got hit 15-20 times before it got through the herd. >
  
  Jesus Christ, what a damned shame. I can only imagine how gutted the driver must feel, too.