A 25-year-old woman was gored by a bison in Yellowstone National Park Monday morning, authorities said.
A bison was walking near a boardwalk in the Black Sand Basin, just north of the Old Faithful Geyser, when a tourist approached it, reaching 10 feet. The wild animal then horned the woman and threw her 10 feet into the air, according to a National Park Service press release.
The unnamed woman, who was visiting from Grove City, Ohio, suffered a stab wound among other injuries, the agency said. She was transported by ambulance to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.
“The incident is still under investigation and there is no additional information to share,” the National Park Service said in a press release on Tuesday. “Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park is wild and can be dangerous when approached.”
In this August 3, 2016 archive photo, a herd of bison grazes in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park.
Matthew Brown / AP, SHEET
Two other individuals were also within 25 yards of the same bison at the time of the incident. Park regulations require visitors to stay more than 25 feet away from bison, which has injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal, according to the National Park Service.
It was the first reported incident in 2022 of a visitor horned by a bison after getting too close. Bison “are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans,” the agency said.
When an animal as large as a bison is near a campsite, a trail, a boardwalk, a parking lot, or in a developed area, the National Park Service advises people to “give it space.”
“If necessary, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal nearby,” the agency added.