Bison Charges, Wounds Colorado Springs Man In Yellowstone

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — A Colorado Springs man was hospitalized with an arm injury after he was gored by bison in Yellowstone National Park.

The 34-year-old man, whose name wasn't immediately released, was walking with his family on a boardwalk near Giant Geyser at Old Faithful on Monday when a bull bison charged the group, the National Parks Service said in a news release.

The family didn't leave, and the bison continued charging, goring the man. An ambulance took him to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center with an arm wound.

Video obtained by multiple media outlets showed the animal charge the family, pause, then charge again, bucking and lifting him off the ground.

“The dad and the kid were just walking up to the bison when the bison took off,” Rob Goodell, who recorded the video, told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday.

Goodell, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, said the bison was "just protecting his ground."

The attack remains under investigation. Further details weren't immediately released.

Park officials warned that wildlife in Yellowstone 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," the park service said. "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."

This is the second bison attack this year in which a visitor got too close to the animal. In both cases, the bison felt threatened and gored the individual.

On Memorial Day, a 25-year-old Ohio woman walked with two other people within 10 feet of a bison near a boardwalk at Black Sand Basin when the animal gored her, tossing her 10 feet into the air. The bison punctured her and left her with other injuries. She was taken to a hospital as well.

Bison are unpredictable and can run three times faster than people.