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Published 10:28 13 Jul 2026 GMT
The identity of a man who was dramatically tossed into the air by a charging bison at Yellowstone National Park has been revealed as a well-known community leader from Washington state.
According to reports from The New York Times, Carl McDaniel, from Bothell, was the man injured during the terrifying encounter near the Bridge Bay Campground by Yellowstone Lake at around 8:30PM on Friday.
Warning: This article contains distressing footage of the incident.
Footage of the incident quickly spread online, showing the bull bison becoming increasingly agitated before charging toward McDaniel, who is in his mid-60s.
After catching up to him, the animal lifted him with one of its horns and threw him an estimated eight feet into the air.
The attack left McDaniel with multiple broken bones.
According to reports from Cascadia Daily News, McDaniel has spent around 25 years living in Kendall, Washington, roughly 110 miles north of Seattle, and is well known for his involvement in local community projects.
He has served as a commissioner for the Columbia Valley water and parks districts, sat on several local boards, and has even been described as the kind of person who steps in to play Santa Claus when needed.
He has also served on the Whatcom County Surface Mining Advisory Committee and as a board member for the Foothills Community Alliance, where he has focused on improving parks and bringing the community together.
Photographer Mike MacLeod, who witnessed the incident, said the bison had already been behaving aggressively around the campground before McDaniel arrived.
According to MacLeod, the animal had first chased a group of teenage boys before wandering over to a picnic table where food had been left behind.
"When he got up, it was kicking like a rodeo horse who's clearly very agitated," MacLeod recalled.
McDaniel then arrived in a pickup truck with his grandson and stopped to take photos of the animal, which appeared to draw its attention.
"As soon as they stop taking pictures, the bison stands up and the grandfather's like, 'Let's get out of here. I don't like this,'" MacLeod said.
Moments later, the bison charged after both McDaniel and his grandson through the trees.
While the grandson managed to escape, McDaniel was unable to outrun the animal.
Even after tossing him into the air, the bison continued to loom over him.
"He stood right over Carl, and he was really, really angry," MacLeod said. "His head's pumping up and down and he displayed all that aggressive behavior."
MacLeod said he tried to distract the animal himself.
"Pumping my arms up and down, yelling at the top of my lungs and jumping up trying to look big and distracting," he explained.
Other bystanders soon joined in, and together they were able to drive the bison away.
A park ambulance reportedly arrived around 10 minutes later, while campers remained with McDaniel until emergency crews reached the scene.
Despite suffering serious injuries, MacLeod said McDaniel stayed remarkably upbeat.
"He was in a lot of pain with his leg, and otherwise he was conscious the whole time, in good spirits, joking," he added.
Yellowstone National Park requires visitors to remain at least 75 feet away from bison, leading some people online to question whether McDaniel had been too close.
However, MacLeod defended him, saying "most people [saw] that these two did not ask for it," adding that everyone he observed that day maintained a "respectful distance."
MacLeod also told Cowboy State Daily that McDaniel's grandson later said his grandfather had suffered "some pretty significant injuries" and was still not "out of the woods yet."
He added that McDaniel worried he may have done something to provoke the attack, but MacLeod insisted the bison was responsible for initiating the confrontation.
As of Sunday evening, Yellowstone National Park and the National Park Service had not released further details about the incident.
The attack happened during Yellowstone's annual bison rut, which runs from June through September, when male bison become significantly more aggressive as they compete for mates.
