Each Autumn (always a Monday in late September/early October) for nearly 50 years, South Dakota has echoed to the sound of thundering hooves and the calls of cowboys and cowgirls, during Custer State Park buffalo round-up.
Today standing at 1,300 strong, Custer’s is one of the largest publicly owned bison herds in the world.
For most of the year they’re left to roam free across the park’s 71,000 acres (like in our featured image by South Dakota Department of Tourism). However, because the terrain of mountains, hills and prairies can only sustain a certain number, they’re rounded up, counted, given a health check and, to maintain the right population size, a number of them are sold at auction.
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Not all are corralled however – the big bulls are left alone since they’re too aggressive to capture. During the round-up season you can see them scattered across the park.
The round-up can be a real spectacle, and members of the public are encouraged to watch. It’s such a popular event that an arts festival and two cook-offs are scheduled take place on the weekend before the round-up.
This year’s round-up takes place on Monday, September 24.
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