Yellowstone Bison Charges Man, 62, And Tosses Him In The Air Multiple Times

A Yellowstone bison charges a man who ventured within three to five feet from the roaming buffalo. The incident is the second in recent weeks involving a Yellowstone National Park visitor ignoring safety rules and venturing too close to the wild animals.

Yellowstone officials warn visitors not to come within 25 yards of the bison and other wild animals at the park. National park staffer also note that the bison are “unpredictable” and capable of sprinting three times faster than humans can run.

The Australian Yellowstone National Park visitor, 62, was seriously injured on Tuesday after the bison charged him and tossed him into the air repeatedly. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, a Taiwanese teenage girl was gored by bison at Yellowstone on May 15. The 16-year-old girl was visiting the park with her host family when she reportedly stood near the buffalo while posing for a photo and was gored. The Taiwanese girl gored by a bison sustained serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.

Both of the Yellowstone bison incidents reportedly occurred in the Old Faithful area of the national park. The most recent bison charge happened near the lodge, after multiple people reportedly “crowded” a buffalo on a paved path.

The unidentified Australian man approached the bison while snapping photos of the encounter. The man was transported from Yellowstone National Park via ambulance. His injuries were not reportedly deemed life-threatening.

The National Park Service stated that each year some Yellowstone visitors are gored by bison, sometimes fatally.

“Visitors are reminded that Yellowstone wildlife is wild,” a release from the National Park Service said. “Wildlife should not be approached, no matter how tame or calm they appear.”

Yellowstone warning signs are posted in a multitude of locations throughout the national park warning visitors not to get too close to the bison and other wild animals. There are approximately 2,300 to 5,000 bison roaming at the park.

According to a statement on the Yellowstone National Park website, efforts to manage the herd and to restore the bison species are ongoing and keenly focused upon by staffers.

“Bison are a migratory species, and they move across a vast landscape. When they are inside Yellowstone, they have unlimited access to every square inch of habitat,” the website statement added.

[Images via: Shutterstock and Brea Miller Photography]