In Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park, A Florida visitor to Yellowstone National Park was grazed by a bison. It was the first violent meeting of 2025 and only a few weeks into the busy summer season.
Officials from the park told people over and over again not to get too close to animals. A park statement released Wednesday said the 47-year-old guy did just that but got away with only minor injuries.
Officials from the park wouldn’t say anything else about the tourist from Cape Coral, Florida, or the attack on Sunday. They would only say that it happened at Lake Village, which has cabins, a lodge, and campsites on the shore of Yellowstone Lake.
In their statement, park officials said that bison can be mean if people don’t give them enough room. In Yellowstone, bison have hurt more people than any other wild animal.
Last year, bison gored at least two people, including a woman from South Carolina who was 83 years old and was seriously hurt. In 2023, a bison gored and seriously hurt a woman from Arizona in the park. In 2022, bison hurt two people.
People have also been known to pick up baby bison and get too close. This kind of contact can make the baby’s herd avoid it, which can kill it, and it also puts the tourist at risk.
Bison can run up to 35 mph (56 kph), which is faster than the world record for men in the 100-meter dash. They usually just graze or lounge around.
People who come to the park must stay at least 25 meters away from bison and other big herbivores, and 100 meters away from wolves and bears.
The bison is the largest land animal in North America. They can be up to 2 meters tall and up to 900 kilogrammes heavy.
In 2024, about 4.7 million people went to Yellowstone. Last week, a tour bus crash in Idaho killed seven people. In late April, road ploughing marked the start of summer.