Bull bison tosses 65-year-old grandfather at Yellowstone campground

Victim identified as 65-year-old Carl Isom-McDaniel

Isom-McDaniel and his grandson were walking at Bridge Bay Campground near Yellowstone Lake during the final hour before sunset when they stopped to photograph the bull bison lying in the grass, according to footage of the incident and an account from MacLeod, a photographer who recorded the scene.

The bison repeatedly flopped on its side in what MacLeod described as an agitated manner before springing to its feet. A white truck approached slowly, but the bison charged the vehicle, causing the driver to speed off. The animal then turned and barreled toward Isom-McDaniel and the boy, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

The pair attempted to evade the bison by running through a thicket of trees, but the animal caught Isom-McDaniel.

“The bison hooked him with his left horn on his hip and tossed him in the air,” MacLeod told the Cowboy State Daily. “He made a perfect flip and landed on his side.”

MacLeod said Isom-McDaniel was “in a lot of pain with his leg” but remained conscious and in “good spirits, joking.”

The National Park Service has not released any information about the attack, the BBC reported.

July overlaps with bison mating season, the peak breeding period when testosterone levels among bulls are heightened, Barfield said.

“That’s really going to drive their behaviour, and they’re going to be potentially more unpredictable than at other times of the year,” Barfield said. She said her team stays away from bison during mating season except for observations made from the safety of a vehicle.

For visitors on foot, Barfield said, “It’s always good to keep in mind that 25 yards is a minimum distance for safety.”

The NPS warns on its website that “bison may appear tranquil, but these large animals have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal.” They can run three times faster than humans, making it important to give them plenty of space, the agency says. The NPS advises staying at least 25 yards away and to “never approach a bison to take a photo.”