72-Year-Old Woman Gored By Bison While Taking Photos At Yellowstone National Park

An elderly California woman was gored by a bison at Yellowstone National Park on Thursday (June 25) after she went close to the animal for clicking pictures.

The unidentified woman, 72, was rendered first aid by the park rangers before being rushed to an Idaho hospital, the park management said in a news release Monday. Her condition was not known.

The incident happened near the woman's campsite at Bridge Bay Campground in northwest Wyoming after she “repeatedly approached to within 10 feet" of the bison, Yellowstone's senior bison biologist Chris Geremia said in the statement.

"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. If that doesn't make the threat (in this instance it was a person) move away, a threatened bison may charge," he explained, insisting that visitors should stay at least 25 yards away from the large wild animal, move away if it inches closer, and run for a cover if it charges.

The recent attack is the second such incident at the park since May after it was reopened to visitors following coronavirus-related closure. In the earlier attack, which happened on May 20, a woman was gored by a bison under similar circumstances in the Old Faithful Upper Geyser Basin.

The park management noted that the male bison (bull) can weigh up to 2,000 pounds with a running capacity of 35 mph. The park had at least 4,800 bison in August 2019.

In March, Deion Broxton, a reporter for NBC Montana, released a video of himself being confronted by a herd of bison while on duty at the park. The video of his encounter gained national attention and subsequently influenced the park’s safety poster which read "Oh no, I ain't messing with you," the exact words Broxton was heard saying in the video.