Woman Gored By Bison In Yellowstone National Park
Jun 29, 2020, 6:20 PM | Updated: 6:21 pm
Bull bison in the final stages of spring shedding. (NPS / Jacob W. Frank)
(NPS / Jacob W. Frank)
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – A 72-year-old woman was hospitalized after she was gored multiple times by a bison, according to park officials.
National Park Service officials said the California woman was struck after getting within 10 feet of the animal to take its picture.
“The series of events that led to the goring suggest the bison was threatened by being repeatedly approached to within 10 feet,” said Chris Geremia, Yellowstone’s senior bison biologist. “Bison are wild animals that respond to threats by displaying aggressive behaviors like pawing the ground, snorting, bobbing their head, bellowing, and raising their tail. If that doesn’t make the threat (in this instance it was a person) move away, a threatened bison may charge. To be safe around bison, stay at least 25 yards away, move away if they approach, and run away or find cover if they charge.”
The woman was airlifted to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center after receiving care from park rangers at the scene.
The incident is under investigation and no further update on the woman’s condition was immediately available.
When an animal is near a campsite, trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, give it space,” officials said. “Stay more than 25 yards away from all large animals — bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes and at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves. If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal in close proximity.”
