Woman savagely gored by bison in park after 2,000lb animal charges at her
A woman has been airlifted to hospital fafter being severely gored by a 2,000lb bison.
Officials say the 47-year-old victim from Phoenix, Arizona, was mauled near to lakeside on the north shore of Lake Yellowstone in rom Yellowstone National Park yesterday morning.
She was walking with a pal in a field when they saw two bison. Upon seeing them, the visitors turned to walk away but one of the animals charged and gored the woman.
This was the first recorded bison attack in 2023 - but they are known to occur when groups of tourists clash with the animals' child-rearing habits. Male bison get especially aggressive during this season.
She sustained severe injuries to her chest and abdomen, says the report, and had to receive immediate medical attention. She was then airlifted and flown by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. There are no current updates on her condition. The incident remains under investigation.
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During mating season, from mid-July through mid-August, bison can become agitated more quickly. Use extra caution and give them space. They are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans.
Last year, three individuals were gored by bison, something which is becoming more common as people and animals clash at the nature preserve (Getty Images)The incident prompted park experts to reiterate an important message to visitors: "Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are wild and can be dangerous when approached." 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 m) away from all large animals - bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes - and at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves. If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal in proximity," the statement continues.
Last year, more than 3.2 million people visited Yellowstone, and only three were gored by the park's bison. In 2022, a 71-year-old woman from Pennsylvania was gored by a bull bison near Storm Point at Yellowstone Lake and treated for injuries to her arms, on June 27, another bull charged at a 34-year-old man from Colorado who was walking with his family on a boardwalk near the Giant Geyser at Old Faithful.
The man sustained injuries to his arm and was also taken to hospital. Scariest of all, on May 31, a 25-year-old woman from Ohio was attacked near a boardwalk at Black Sand Basin and was gored and thrown 10 feet (3 meters) into the air, sustaining a serious puncture wound.
“Every year, there are regrettable accidents caused by people getting too close to these massive animals,” the National Park Service said. “It’s great to love the bison, but love them from a distance." It's also simply illegal to do anything to Yellowstone's bison, as they are protected. In 2018, a drunken tourist from Oregon was jailed for 180 days after a court determined they harassed America's largest land mammal.
The animals are an essential part of the North American food chain system, though they experienced near extinction due to extreme hunting by settlers in an effort to starve the Indigenous population, who heavily relied on the furry beasts in the 19th century. Their reintroduction in the 20th century means that these mostly-gentle giants now freely roam areas of the US, Mexico, and Canada - with Yellowstone being one of their main hangouts.
The park has a conservation and transfer program where they work with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council, and the Nez Perce Tribe to relocate bison to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes at Fort Peck, which is necessary for those groups to sustain, and helps keep the park's population to manageable numbers.
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