Our mid-February hike at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park started cold, 41 degrees with a nice, brisk 10 mph north wind. Luckily the sun shone brightly with no clouds in the sky. Our trip here was not one of our usual hikes; we were asked to appear in a segment of “Florida on a Tankful”, a Spectrum News feature in Florida featuring places to visit in the area. The unique feature of this park: wild bison and wild horses. Karl and I hiked here many times over the past 20 years or so, and saw the horses many times. We often saw the bison too, mostly in the distance. Our closest sighting of the bison occurred in 2019. Since we shoot our photographs from trails and areas open to the public, we know it is possible for any visitor to see them. Both the horses and bison roamed this area in early Florida history, but died out as civilization encroached. In 1975 ten bison were reintroduced and the herd has grown since, and in 1989 the Florida Cracker horses also found a home here.
We met Randy Rauch, the journalist from Spectrum, at the Visitor’s Center where we talked to the staff about the park and where we might find the bison and horses. We hiked and explored together, and from the Observation Tower on the Bolen’s Bluff trail spotted some of the wild horses. The bison did not made an appearance this time. If you would like to see the segment, click on this link: Florida on a Tankful 2/28/25.
The story of our closest sighting with the bison is in this blog here: Paynes Prairie Bison
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