A terrifying encounter at Yellowstone National Park left a tourist seriously injured after a massive bull bison charged him and launched him roughly 8 feet into the air.
The dramatic attack happened Friday at Bridge Bay Campground in Wyoming and was captured on video, according to Cowboy State Daily.
The unidentified man had been walking with his grandson when the bison suddenly turned aggressive.
Footage shows the tourist running around a group of pine trees in a desperate attempt to escape. Moments earlier, the bull had been rolling in the dirt and giving itself a dust bath.
Without warning, the bison charged toward the tourists before slamming its head into the older, bearded man and sending him flying through the air like a ragdoll.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:
Montana-based photographer Mike MacLeod, who recorded the encounter, said he had originally been trying to capture dramatic footage of the bison’s behavior.
“I was just trying to get some dramatic footage of that bison having a fit,” MacLeod told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s changed my idea of what to expect from these guys at this time of year, because I would not have predicted that happening.”
MacLeod said the bison began moving through the campground and approached a group of children who were taking pictures with their phones from what appeared to be a safe distance.
“He started walking through the campground,” MacLeod recalled. “He was coming up to this group of kids, who were taking pictures on their cellphones from a good distance away, and then the buffalo charged these kids.”
After the man was thrown to the ground, MacLeod said he feared the bison might return and gore him.
He stopped filming and rushed toward the animal in an effort to distract it.
“I had to get the bison’s attention,” MacLeod said. “I was really afraid he was going to gore the guy on the ground, so I stopped videotaping and ran at the bison, yelled loud, and was trying to be as big and intimidating as possible.”
Once the bison moved away, MacLeod and several other witnesses immediately went to help the injured tourist.
The man appeared to be in severe pain, especially in his hips and the leg he landed on, though witnesses could not see any obvious external injuries.
“One guy held his hand,” MacLeod said. “Another guy pulled security on the outside to make sure that the bison didn’t come back. A gal in a car was on the phone with 911, and another gal did a blood sweep, but we couldn’t find any blood.”
No update has been released on the man’s condition.
MacLeod said the attack may have been connected to the bison rut, or mating season, which typically runs from June through September.
During that period, male bison can become more energetic, territorial and aggressive as they compete for dominance and access to females.
“You can tell he was agitated, pissed off, and charging anything and everything,” MacLeod said.
