Yellowstone Bison Gore Second Visitor in Three Days

Update, June 30: For the second time in three days, a bison has injured a visitor at Yellowstone National Park.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, near Storm Point on Yellowstone Lake. According to a press release from the National Park Service, the victim, a 71-year-old woman from West Chester, Pennsylvania, was walking back to her car with her daughter when they unwittingly approached a bull bison, which charged, inflicting non-life-threatening injuries. Emergency personnel transported the injured visitor to West Park Hospital in Cody, Wyoming. 

The NPS said an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Original Post: A bison gored a tourist in Yellowstone National Park on Monday after his group came too close to the animal, the National Park Service said.

In a press release, Yellowstone National Park said the visitor, a 34-year-old man from Colorado Springs, was hiking with his family near Giant Geyser at Old Faithful when a bull bison charged them. Instead of distancing themselves from the animal, the family stood their ground; the bison charged again and injured the man’s arm. Emergency services transported him to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

In a video shot by visitor Rob Goodell and published by NBC Montana that purports to show the incident, a bison appears to charge a group of two adults and a child walking on a boardwalk as a third adult approaches. The first two adults become separated from the child as the bison continues to get closer; the third adult lunges to grab the child, and the bison gores him.

The incident, which comes less than a week after Yellowstone partially reopened to visitors following a destructive flood, is the second incident this year of a bison injuring a visitor at the park. On May 30, a bison charged and tossed a 25-year-old from Ohio in the air after she approached within 10 feet of the animal. She sustained various injuries including puncture wounds.

In its release, the NPS said Tuesday’s incident was still under investigation and reminded visitors not to approach wildlife in the park. 

“Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are wild and can be dangerous when approached,” the agency wrote. “When an animal is near a campsite, trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, give it space. Stay more than 25 yards (23 meters) away from all large animals—bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes—and at least 100 yards (91 meters) away from bears and wolves. If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal in proximity.”

In a separate incident on Monday, a grizzly injured an experienced hiker high on Montana’s Francs Peak, located southeast of Yellowstone, in what Wyoming Fish and Game called a “surprise encounter.” Rescuers transferred the victim to a hospital by helicopter; WFG declined to release information about his condition.