Badlands: A friendly antilope

First, my apologies for being almost a week late with updates. This is due to there not being a single, reliably fast internet connection in western South Dakota. Or so it would seem. I'm uploading these pics from the public library in Hot Springs, where the machines that are in the super-fast area are too old to accept my memory card with the pics on.

Head ---> Desk.

After the foodfest with the prairie dogs Wednesday, I drove on into Badlands National Park. It was as beautiful as I remembered it from 2009. At a viewpoint (I believe it was called Homesteaders point or something like that) I saw an antilope - a young buck - stuffing his little snout about 150 feet to the right of me. I took some pics and pretty soon another couple of guys were also standing beside me, filming the animal.

Then the strangest thing happened. He looked up and seemed to become aware of us. But instead of running, he came closer. The other guys went over to the lookout platform about 100 feet to the left of me, while I remained, wondering what this animal would do, as he came ever closer. Pretty soon, he was down by the fence where I was standing, and at the closest I could have pretty much reached out a hand and touched him, I think. Mindful of the Rules and worried about getting ticks, I wisely refrained.

He then trotted off along the outside of the fence and over to the platform, where he commenced to graze on the sparse vegetation and allowing himself to be photographed and filmed, seemingly without a care in the world. I took lots of pics of him, but quite a few were very similar, so I deleted most of them.

All pics here.

"What? Somebody's taking pics of me?"


"Ooooh, I do believe I'm blushing."


"I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille."


"'ello there!"


Smelling the flowers.


Digging up food with his little hooveses. So cuuute.