Yellowstone Bull Bison Tosses Tourist 8 Feet in the Air at Bridge Bay Campground

A bull bison at Yellowstone National Park's Bridge Bay Campground in Wyoming charged an unidentified man and tossed him roughly eight feet into the air, seriously injuring him, according to Cowboy State Daily, which first reported the incident and was cited by the New York Post. The man was walking with his grandson when the attack happened.

Montana-based photographer Mike MacLeod captured the sequence on video and told Cowboy State Daily he'd been filming the bison earlier because it was giving itself a dust bath. He had no idea it was about to turn violent.

"I was just trying to get some dramatic footage of that bison having a fit," MacLeod said. "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."

Video described by Cowboy State Daily and the New York Post shows the man running around a stand of pine trees to try to escape the bison before the animal closed in and head-butted him, sending him airborne. The New York Post described the man as older and bearded but did not name him, and no identity has been released publicly.

The extent of the tourist's injuries beyond being described as serious has not been detailed in available reporting, and no National Park Service incident report identifying him or confirming his condition has been made public.

According to the National Park Service, Yellowstone's bison population fluctuates between roughly 3,000 and 6,000 animals, split into a northern herd that breeds in Lamar Valley and a central herd that breeds in Hayden Valley. The Park Service has separately noted that bison have injured visitors at Yellowstone in the past, underscoring that even animals that appear calm while grazing near campgrounds and parking lots remain wild and can turn aggressive without an obvious trigger.

MacLeod's own reaction, that the attack surprised him "at this time of year," reflects a point wildlife photographers and park officials often make: bison behavior isn't always predictable, and an animal that seems docile one moment, such as one giving itself a dust bath, is still a wild bison capable of sudden aggression.

No further details on citations, park closures, or an official determination of how the encounter unfolded have been made public in connection with this attack.