Woman is gored by bison at Yellowstone National Park

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By Nasima Khatun

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A woman was gored by a bison while at Yellowstone National Park.

Now, it's pretty common knowledge that if you come into contact with any animal in the wild, let alone a 2000lbs bison, leave it alone.

But some people are happy to put their lives on the line just to get up close and personal with them - and let's just say, it never ends well.

An 83-year-old woman was left with serious injuries at the hands of a bison who was said to be "defending its space" at Yellowstone National Park.

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According to an official press release published by the park, the incident occurred on June 1 near the Storm Point trail at Yellowstone Lake when the bison "came within a few feet of the woman and lifted her about a foot off the ground with its horns."

Emergency staff first took the woman, who was from Greenville, South Carolina, to the nearby Lake Medical Clinic for treatment before she was airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, per the statement.

Officials did not have any specific information about her condition but noted that she had sustained "serious" injuries at the hands of the beast.

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This is not the first time we've seen a tourist get attacked by a bison, with rangers at the park announcing that it is the most common attack that takes place at the attraction.

Shocking footage uploaded to the Instagram account TouronsOfYellowstone showed multiple instances of different tourists pushing their luck at the hiking trail after coming into contact with the brutish animal.

In one video which was posted to the account on March 5, you can clearly see a man taking photographs of a bison, kneeling next to the group. Within a split second, the wild beast starts approaching him with his tail up - a marker of a potential attack.


Thankfully the man got away without anything more happening, but not everyone has been so lucky.

More recently, a man from Idaho was caught provoking a bison in Yellowstone after he allegedly kicked it. He suffered minor injuries when the wild animal turned on him.

After further investigation, he was charged with being under the influence of alcohol, disorderly conduct, approaching wildlife, and disturbing wildlife, as per an update by park officials.


According to the official National Park Service website, there are four rules that visitors must follow in order to protect themselves as well as those around them including never approaching or feeding wildlife, staying on boardwalks and trails in thermal areas, and never parking in the road or blocking traffic.

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They also added that bison are one of the main causes of injuries at Yellowstone given the fact that they are "unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans."

"Always stay at least 25 yards (23 m) away from bison," officials warned.

Other wild animals that hikers can come into contact with during their hike at the National Park include wolves, elk, and bears.

Stay safe out there, folks!

Featured Image Credit: Don White/Getty