Shocking moment tourist is hurled eight feet into the air by rampaging bison at Yellowstone National Park
The tourist was seriously injured and suffered a broken hip when the bull charged and launched him skyward
This is the shocking moment a tourist was hurled eight feet into the air and did a flip after being thrown by a rampaging bison at Yellowstone National Park.
Listen to this article
The tourist was seriously injured when the bull charged and launched him skyward on Friday July 10 at Bridge Bay Campground, Wyoming.
The name of the victim - who is still in hospital - has not yet been released but he sustained significant injuries, including a broken hip.
Professional photographer Mike MacLeod, who camping in the area, captured the incident on video.
According to Mr MacLeod, the bison entered the campground agitated and was charging indiscriminately at people, vehicles, and even a tree, before targeting the victim who attempted to run away.
The man, who was with his young grandson, tried to get away behind some trees after the bison began to charge, but the animal pursued him.
The bull then hooked the man with its left horn on his hip and flipped him airborne. The grandson escaped unharmed.
Bystanders, including MacLeod, yelled and approached to drive the bison away, before Yellowstone EMS arrived and provided first aid to the injured man who landed on his side.
His grandson told Mr MacLeod that his grandfather is "not out of the woods yet" and continues to experience considerable pain, especially in his hips and the leg he landed on.
In Mr MacLeod’s opinion, this bull was looking for a fight and decided to choose those two as the targets of its aggression, as reported in Cowboy State Daily.
“I’ve been around bison for a while, but this was really weird,” he said.
“Why did it pick those two? There were so many people around, and most of them were closer to and behind the bison. It was really weird.”
A spokesman for Yellowstone National Park said: "A 65-year-old man was injured by a bison on the evening of July 10 at Bridge Bay Campground near Lake Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park. Park emergency medical personnel responded and transported him to a nearby hospital"
Read more: Heat health alerts extended as emergency services warn of surge in demand and risk of wildfires
Read more: US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham dies aged 71 after 'brief and sudden illness'
Yellowstone was established as the world's first national park in 1872.
But, humans have spent time in the Yellowstone region for more than 11,000 years. Many tribes and bands used the park as their home, hunting grounds, and transportation routes prior to and after European American arrival.
It measures a whopping 3,472 square miles (over 2 million acres) meaning it is larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
Its highest point, Eagle Peak, stands at 11,358 feet. About 5% of the park is covered by water, 15% by grassland; and 80% by forests.
Yellowstone is also home to more than 500 active geysers and 290 waterfalls.
96% of the park lies in Wyoming, 3% in Montana and 1% in Idaho.
