A tourist was seriously injured Friday evening in a Bison attack in Yellowstone National Park after a bull bison threw him 8 feet into the air at Bridge Bay Campground. Mike Macleod filmed the encounter from the campground as the animal moved through the area south of Fishing Bridge.
MacLeod said the bison was “angry, agitated and charging anything and everything.” He also said the man was walking with his grandson when the animal turned toward them, and that the tourist ended up 8 feet in the air after the charge.
Bridge Bay Campground Friday evening
MacLeod was camping at Bridge Bay Campground when his wife pointed out the bull bison entering the area. He said he filmed it because, “I was just trying to get some dramatic footage of that bison having a fit,” and later added, “I used to be a combat photographer in the Army,” as he described staying at a safe distance.
He said the animal started by moving through the campground and charging a group of kids taking pictures from a good distance away. “He was coming up to this group of kids, who were taking pictures on their cellphones from a good distance away, and then the buffalo charged these kids,” Macleod said. The kids scattered safely.
Mike Macleod on the chase
MacLeod said the bison kept running through the campground while people yelled and screamed to alert one another. After a while, it lay down in a patch of dirt, then later got up again. He said the victim and his grandson were at least 100 yards away, adding, “They weren't even in that camping loop,” and that they had stopped for pictures when the animal seemed calm.
“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.” MacLeod said a white pickup then appeared, “The bison was charging the truck,” and the animal went toward the two people hiding in the trees before tearing into the brush and chasing them.
The National Park Service has not released any information on the incident. MacLeod said the episode changed his view of what to expect from bison at this time of year: “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.”
The unanswered question is the tourist's name and condition, and the park has not provided details beyond the serious injury and the force of the attack.
