One of the undying images of the old West is that of a buffalo herd stampeding across a prairie. Every year in the fall, the largest buffalo herd in the United States at Custer State Park is rounded up by a group of horsemen and horsewomen. The herd numbers from 950 to 1,500 in size.
Each member of the buffalo herd at Custer State Park is a descendant of the original 36 bison sold to the state of South Dakota in 1913. Those bison descended from six calves saved from the last bison hunt in 1881.
The buffalo roundup at Custer State Park is an important means by which park management maintains the herd population at a level which the native prairie can support.
The herd is driven over the rolling terrain of western South Dakota's Custer State Park until they reach the corral complex area. Two viewing areas for the roundup are located along the Wildlife Loop road.
The Buffalo Roundup occurs on a Monday in late September or early October. The actual roundup lasts for about two and one-half hours.
A week after the Buffalo Roundup, park staff count, vaccinate, brand and cull the herd. Some of the buffalo, about 250 in 2009, are auctioned off each November to manage the herd size.
