To love and honor others is a blessing we all have.  The famous quote says “It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.”

Here is a story about such love and honor.  If I hadn’t seen it myself, I don’t know if I’d believe it.  But I did see it and I want to pass it on to you!

Another Yellowstone story:  As it is with the circle of life, the weak are preyed upon by those who feed off of them and feed their young.  That being the case, a Bison who had slipped into a boiling pot had much of the flesh burned off his hind legs.  This caused the Bison to move slower than the others.  A pack of wolves looking for dinner, came upon the Bison herd and picked out this Bison to attack.  They took him down and the first round of feasting began.  As nature would have it the rest of the herd for survival had to run for safety.

Hours later the wolves retreated.  As onlooker watched to see what other animals might come in to feast something beautiful happened.  The herd of Bison returned.  Now this in my mind is not a smart thing for this herd to do.  There is the smell of fresh meat and any number of preditors could come at any moment.

As we watched we thought it was just another herd of Bison.  But this particular herd began to gather around the deceased Bison.  They all gathered for several minutes, then a large group of them moved away and a handful remained.  This is when we realized these Bison, with feelings we had not concidered, were having some type of ritual.  A Bison funeral so to speak.

Bison Funeral taken by Ed and Jack Marzo

One by one the rest of the Bison moved away a short distance gathering with the rest of the herd and looking back at the one downed Bison.  Finally there was only one Bison left.  It nodded it’s head, then in an appearance lowered it’s head for several minutes.   About 10 minutes of standing there with it’s head bowed, he too began to move away.  Only this one would go a few feet then look back.  Walk a few more feet then look back.  Then walk with his heard looking back.  Finally he reached the rest of the herd.  The herd gathered around him and slowly they all walked away.

This was the most touching sight I had ever seen.  I know these Bison were greaving their dead.  There is no doubt in my mind.  I myself gained a new love of nature and of animals in general.  If they can love so deeply, so can I.

I decided that day to start honoring and loving more fully those who are around me.  I don’t want to wait until the end.  Do you love as fully as these Bison did?  Would you risk your life to tell a loved one you LOVE them?