Bison Gores Ohio Woman In Yellowstone, Tosses Her 10 Feet Into Air

Editor's note: Patch previously reported the woman died, however her condition after the injuries wasn't immediately clear. This article has been clarified to reflect what we know about the woman's condition based on information from the National Parks Service and the hospital where she was taken for treatment.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WY — An Ohio woman was punctured in Yellowstone National Park after officials said a bison gored and tossed her 10 feet into the air.

The 25-year-old Grove City woman and two other people walked within 10 feet of the animal near a boardwalk at Black Sand Basin on Memorial Day, the National Parks Service said. Park rules state that visitors must stay at least 75 feet away from bison.

When the woman approached the walking bison, the animal gored her and tossed her 10 feet into the air, puncturing her and leaving her with other injuries, the parks service said. She was taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. Despite news outlets reporting the woman died, a spokeswoman for the hospital told Patch in an email Wednesday morning the hospital has had no recent patient deaths as a result of injuries caused by a bison attack.

The woman's name wasn't immediately released. A spokeswoman for the parks service referred questions about the woman's condition to the hospital, and clarified that the information they distributed did not say the woman died.

The parks service stressed in its news release that wildlife in the 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," the parks 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 close proximity."

This is the first reported occurrence this year of a bison goring someone who got too close to the animal, officials said.

Bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal.

"They are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans," the parks service said.

Yellowstone usually sees at least one bison goring each year, park officials have said. In 2015, bison gored five visitors by mid-July.

In April, a video shared to a Facebook group showed a man walking too close to a bison and the animal chasing him away. An Ann Arbor, Michigan, hiker last year suffered serious injuries in a bison attack on the Storm Point Trail near Yellowstone Lake.