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Bison That Charged Yellowstone National Park Visitors Was Provoked

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Published Date

July 22, 2010

A bison that charged two Yellowstone National Park visitors was provoked. Scream capture from CNN video.

The other day two hikers in the Biscuit Basin area of Yellowstone National Park were charged by a bison, and one was head-butted and flipped into the air. Initially, the park's report sounded as if the bison attacked unprovoked. But this video shows differently.

This is how the park's release explained the incident:

At about 8:30 p.m. on July 19, a 49-year-old woman and a 61-year-old male family member were exiting the Biscuit Basin thermal area to rejoin their family group in the parking lot, when a bison appeared in some nearby brush and charged them. The woman was struck and flipped in the air by the bison.

She sustained injuries as a result of the bison’s impact and subsequent fall to the ground. As her male family member attempted to escape the bison’s charge, he tripped and fell, sustaining injuries to his shoulder, hand, and foot. He was not injured by the bison.

However, a reporter for CNN tracked down the woman who filmed the "attack," and filed the following report. In the video it's easy to see that the two approached way too close to the bison, which was minding it's own business. And, if you look closely enough at the video, it appears someone threw a stick at the bison and hit it in the flanks.

With this information in hand, it'll be curious to learn whether park officials decide to cite the two, and whether anyone can finger who threw the stick at the bison. Park regulations require you to stay at least 25 yards -- 75 feet -- from bison and elk, and at least 100 yards from bears and wolves. And, the park's website notes, "Those who fail to abide by these requirements not only put themselves in danger, they may also be subject to a citation and fine."

Fortunately for the couple, they weren't killed or even seriously injured.

Comments

They were way too close but that stick or what ever it was came from the animals head either from the ground or the tree he was by.
They broke the rules on distance but the stick wasn't "thrown" by anyone but the animal!


My stars, how can people be so stupid. I saw the stick that someone threw at the buffalo. What did they think would happen. The buffalo was provoked in that video, they normally do not attack unless they are provoked in any way shape or form.

There use to be a video at Canyon Village that showed a person being gored by a Buffalo. That should be required viewing at all informaiton centers through out the park.

I have traveled to Yellowstone many times, and every encounter that I had with a buffalo, the buffalo was given a wide berth. One time I was driving north to Mammoth, and a buffalo was on the road, we sat and waited patiently as the buffalo meandered by the car. The animal was not more than two feet away, it was a magnificant sight to behold.


I believe the "absolutely true!" part, but is there really such thing as a tootengefunkenthingen?


I lived in Germany -- and drove the highways and byways -- for several years in the mid-1960s. Back then, most of the Polizei vehicles were green VWs. I can assure you that the police-grade Tootengefunkenthinge installed in those VWs was not wimpy at all. It was the vehicle itself that was the wimp.


yellowstone fan:
They were way too close but that stick or what ever it was came from the animals head either from the ground or the tree he was by.
They broke the rules on distance but the stick wasn't "thrown" by anyone but the animal!

What? None of the trees in the area are tall enough, and that bison is in a clearing where there isn't remotely any tree tall enough for that stick to have fallen from. If you look at it closely, the stick rebounds a few inches up off the bison's back with spin. If it had fallen off its head or back it would have just slid off its side. That stick was thrown, and that's what made the bison react. I do see its tail slapping its side a few times, but if its tail had picked up a stick, I think we would see that in the video.

Bison aren't the only animals in Yellowstone that can react unpredictably. I attended the Old West Cookout at Roosevelt. Our horse-drawn wagon was ready to leave the stall when a horse from the next stall knocked over a log. One of our horses got spooked, started bucking, and refused to leave until our guide got off and calmed it down. She was the carrot. Our driver was the stick. He just yelled at the horse and slapped it with the reins.


We were in the park when this happened. We heard the guy threw a rolled up newspaper at the bison because it wasn't looking at the camera. This prompted us to search the net to see if it was recorded, and sure enough, we found the entire uncut video on Youtube. They should be charged for approaching and harassing wildlife. Thank God this woman wasn't seriously injured or killed. Imagine if the bison had charged another, nonrelated tourist. Let the lawsuits begin? The mainstream media edited the tape to make it appear that they did not approach or provoke the bison. Shame on ABC, and I won't be trusting their news again.


We just returned from nine days in Yellowstone, and I can tell you that unfortunately there were several similar incidents of tourist stupidity, although none that we saw that resulted in injury to the persons involved. But it is amazing how some people totally ignore all the rules regarding closest approach to animals, parking on the roadways, taking pictures from the middle of the roadways, etc. We saw one idiot with his tripod set up on the road to get a picture of a bison crossing the road about 25 feet (not yards!) in front of him. I believe that the park rangers should take much stronger enforcement action and cite these people for violations. It would not only make for a much safer experience, but a much more enjoyable one for the rest of us as well!


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