- A 72-year-old woman from California was gored by a bison at Yellowstone National Park on Thursday.
- Park officials said in a press release about the incident that the woman had gotten too close to the bison while taking pictures.
- A senior bison biologist at Yellowstone said in the park’s press release that the bison likely felt “threatened by being repeatedly approached to within 10 feet.”
- The woman was airlifted to a nearby hospital following the incident and her current condition is unknown
A 72-year-old woman was injured at Yellowstone National Park last week when she was gored by a bison after getting to close to the animal to take a picture, National Park Service (NPS) officials said on Monday.
The woman, who has not been publicly named but is from California, was at the Bridge Bay Campground in Wyoming on Thursday when she first saw the bison, park officials said. She then approached within 10 feet of the bison to take a photo, and the bison gored her.
The woman was taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center by helicopter with multiple injuries, the park said.
Park officials told Insider that they did not have any further information regarding the woman’s current condition.
Yellowstone’s Senior Bison Biologist Chris Geremia said in the NPS statement that the bison likely gored the woman because it felt “threatened by being repeatedly approached to within 10 feet.”
“Bison are wild animals that respond to threats by displaying aggressive behaviors like pawing the ground, snorting, bobbing their head, bellowing, and raising their tail,” Geremia said. “If that doesn’t make the threat (in this instance it was a person) move away, a threatened bison may charge. To be safe around bison, stay at least 25 yards away, move away if they approach, and run away or find cover if they charge.”
In the press release about the incident, NPS officials urged visitors to remember that the animals inside the Yellowstone are not domesticated or docile.
“When an animal is near a campsite, trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, give it space. Stay more than 25 yards (23 m) away from all large animals — bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes and at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves. If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal in close proximity,” the NPS said.