It was a 200mm lens so, yes it was telephoto. However, they were walking right around us. I first saw this particular bison way off in a field to our right (my wife was driving so I was in the passenger seat) while we were stuck in the traffic jam due to a herd of them crossing the road. Nothing was moving except the animals. This guy seemed, at first, to be running straight at our car but as he got closer I could see that he was going to reach the road somewhere behind us. I followed him as long as I could then switched to the side view mirror and continued to watch as he reached the road and started running along the side of the road. When he passed us, he turned around and went to the center of the road alongside my wife who started talking to him as if he were a puppy. Then he turned and approached the VW.
I know how nervous I was when my wife was talking to him; I can only imagine what the VW driver was thinking. Those guys are HUGE!