As the summer season gets underway and visitors descend on the country’s 63 national parks in droves, the National Park Service (NPS) has been reminding people to take precautions around any wildlife they come across.
Back in April, a 40-year-old Utah man was arrested and hospitalized after coming across a herd of bison at Yellowstone National Park and then kicking one in the leg (the bison did not let him get away with it either and the man sustained injuries.) A month later, a visitor to Grand Teton National Park suffered serious injuries after accidentally coming across two grizzly bears during a hike.
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An even more tragic incident occurred on June 1 when an 83-year-old woman hiking through Yellowstone’s Storm Point Trail was gored by a bison. As described by the NPS, the visitor from South Carolina was caught off guard by the bison who came up from behind and “lifted her about a foot off the ground with his horns.” It is unclear whether any other visitors were with her or in which condition she was discovered by park rangers.
A bison snuck up on an elderly park visitor, ‘lifted her about a foot off the ground’
Emergency responders responded to the incident and transported the woman to the park’s Lake Medical Clinic from which she was flown by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Medical Center. Other than the fact that she sustained serious injuries, no other information about her condition has been revealed as the incident remains under investigation.
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“The bison, defending its space, came within a few feet of the woman and lifted her about a foot off the ground with its horns,” the NPS said in a brief description. “The woman sustained serious injuries.”
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Come across an animal? This is what you can do to keep yourself safe
The last time a woman was gored by a bison at Yellowstone was when, in 2023, one snuck up behind at a cabin campsite. As happens after every such incident, the NPS reminded visitors to observe rules of wildlife safety by staying at least 25 yards or 23 meters away from large wildlife such as bison, elk and deer and 100 yards or 91 meters away from bears and wolves.
If encountering one accidentally in a remote part of the park, the best course of action is to step back quietly and call park security once one is far enough away. While touching and aggravating the wildlife is a clear no from both a safety and legal standpoint (several park visitors have been charged with federal crimes for disturbing wildlife in the past), visitors have also been injured by panicking and making sudden movements after being caught off guard as bison then see this as a threat and feel the need to “defend its territory.” Another visitor to Yellowstone was gored in 2022 when a female bison came up and tossed her 10 feet in the air at the Old Faithful geyser.
“Bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal,” the NPS wrote further. “Bison are not aggressive animals but will defend their space when threatened. They are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans.”
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