A grandfather thrown 8 feet into the air by a bull bison has spoken out about the terrifying experience from his hospital bed after his femur was broken in multiple places.
Carl Isom-McDaniel was attacked by the huge animal at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming as he walked around the Bridge Bay Campground with his grandson. Footage of the incident, which unfolded on July 10, showed Isom-McDaniel running for his life before being flung into the air.
Isom-McDaniel told Bozeman Health the bison was lying down and did not show any signs of aggression when he first noticed it. That was until it “picked a target,” the 65 year-old said from his hospital bed.
“That target happened to be me,” he added, while acknowledging his injuries could have been much worse. “He could have stomped me. He could have gored me, could have done anything.”
Isom-McDaniel, who lives in Whatcom County in Washington, explained that he did not sustain any bruises from being launched but was instead injured upon landing. The bison, he said, moved faster than “you could ever imagine.”
A spokesperson for Yellowstone National Park told The Independent the park’s emergency medical personnel responded to the incident and transported the victim to a nearby hospital.
A doctor said in a Bozeman Health video shared on social media Isom-McDaniel had sustained a “pretty painful injury”, showing an X-ray of his femur and noting the bone had been broken into “multiple pieces.” The femur is the longest and strongest bone in the human body.
The bison attack was filmed by photographer Mike MacLeod, who told Cowboy State Daily that the victim and his grandson were at least 100 yards from the bison when the attack unfolded.
“The bison hooked him with his left horn on his hip and tossed him in the air,” MacLeod said. “He made a perfect flip and landed on his side.”
MacLeod stopped filming and began shouting at the animal, with a number of other observers also trying to make themselves appear as intimidating as possible.
The bison also charged at a group of kids during the incident, who managed to flee to safety. After that, it appeared to calm down before moving on, MacLeod added.
Yellowstone National Park officials told TMZ that no “management action” will be taken against the bison.
A mature American bison bull can reach up to 6.5 feet at the height of its hump and 12.5 feet in length, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
Bison, which are the largest terrestrial animals in North America, can weigh up to 2,400 pounds.
