A 47-year-old woman from Phoenix, Arizona, was seriously injured by a bison in Yellowstone National Park. The park said in a statement Monday that the woman was walking with another person in a field near Lake Lodge Cabins on the north shore of Lake Yellowstone when they saw two bison.
Although the visitors turned away, one of the animals attacked and stabbed the woman. She sustained serious chest and abdominal injuries and was rushed to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in a rescue helicopter. It is said that nothing is known about her state of health.
It’s unclear how close visitors got to the animals, but the park strongly advises staying more than 80 feet away from all large animals, including bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, elk, and coyotes. A distance of at least 91 meters should be maintained from bears and wolves.
“Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park is wild and can be dangerous if approached,” states the park’s safety briefing. Especially during the mating season (rut) from mid-July to mid-August, bison could become restless more quickly. “Be extra careful and give them more space during this time,” the park said in a statement. “Bison are unpredictable and can run three times as fast as humans”.
The attack is the first this year, according to Park. Most recently, in June 2022, a man from Colorado Springs was impaled by a bison bull. The 34-year-old was traveling with his family near the Giant Geyser on Old Faithful when the group was attacked by the animal. The man who tried to protect his child from the bison was injured in the attack and taken to a hospital. Just a few weeks earlier, a 25-year-old woman had been pierced by a bison and thrown about three meters into the air. She was also injured and taken to a hospital.
See in the video: “Wild Thing” is much better than a dog, Ronnie Bridges and his wife from Texas are sure of that. Instead of a usual pet, the couple lives with a bison in their home. Although the animal weighs 1000 kilograms, the two are not afraid of him.
Quelle: Yellowstone Nationalpark