A bison has tragically died after it fell into a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park in front of horrified tourists.
The tragedy unfolded at Midway Geyser Basin near Old Faithful, where the massive buffalo apparently stumbled into the scalding hot spring, according to the park service.
“There were two bison [standing] there,” said Louise Howard, who witnessed the shocking event during her first-ever trip to Yellowstone, speaking to CBS News. “I thought it was a great photo opportunity.”
But the scene quickly shifted from Instagram-worthy to horrific. One of the bison stepped into a small part of the basin and tried to hop out, only to lose its footing.
Within seconds, the animal teetered at the edge of the Grand Prismatic Spring — the largest hot spring in the park — and fell in.
“As hard as it tried, it couldn’t get out,” Howard said, noting she captured pictures of the bison’s final moments as it struggled to escape.
According to Michael Poland, the scientist-in-charge at Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, the bison’s suffering was mercifully brief. The animal thrashed so violently that it moved into an even hotter section of the spring, hastening its death.
Poland also clarified that the animal wasn’t killed by acid in the water, but by the extreme heat.
The Grand Prismatic Spring reaches temperatures of 192 degrees, with Yellowstone’s boiling point sitting around 200 degrees due to its high altitude.
“This bison carcass is basically sitting in a pool of nearly boiling water, and … that boiling water will eat away at the organic material, the tissues, and eventually there will just be some bone,” Poland explained.
Sadly, this isn’t the first time Yellowstone’s hot springs have claimed wildlife. The park’s Lower Geyser, which can hit similar 197-degree temperatures, is informally known as Skeleton Pool because of the number of animal carcasses found there.
Heavy bison often walk along the fragile edges of hot springs, and their weight can cause the thin crust to crack, sending them plunging into the deadly water below.
The incident occurred amid Yellowstone’s bustling tourist season, with visitors flocking to hotspots like Old Faithful. But the dangers in the park go beyond the springs themselves.
Two tourists were gored by buffalo in separate incidents near Old Faithful in recent months after getting too close to the seemingly calm but incredibly dangerous animals. Thankfully, both men escaped with minor injuries.