Bison Attack Survivor Describes Encounter in Yellowstone National Park
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A bull bison tossed a man 8 feet in the air in Yellowstone National Park, leaving the man seriously injured Friday.
It was all caught on video.
Mike MacLeod, a professional photographer who taking images and footage of the bison, said the man was walking with his grandson.
“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 his wife pointed out that the bull bison entered a campground as tourists started taking photos, including kids. The kids, who the bison charged, got to safety, and that’s when he started filming, McLeod said.
“I used to be a combat photographer in the Army,” he said. “I could see this thing coming.”
According to the report, the victim and his grandson were at a safe distance - at least 100 yards - per the National Park Service’s guidelines.
“He was sitting in the dust, like bison do, with his head out towards the road,” MacLeod said. “When the bison started to get up, the grandfather’s like, ‘OK, time to leave,’ and they moved off behind these trees.”
The grandson escaped, but his grandfather didn’t.
“The bison hooked him with his left horn on his hip and tossed him in the air,” he said. “He made a perfect flip and landed on his side. The bison was at least 6 feet tall, and (the victim) was several feet above him.”
That’s when MacLeod, per the report, put down the camera and tried to get the bison’s attention.
“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,” he said.
Park visitors called 911 and Yellowstone EMS quickly arrived. MacLeod has been in touch with the victim’s grandson, who told him that his grandfather “has some pretty significant injuries and is not out of the woods yet.”
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