Woman Almost Gored After Trying To Touch Bison in Yellowstone Park

A woman was nearly gored by a bison after she tried to touch it in Yellowstone National Park.

A video posted to Instagram by TouronsOfYellowstone, credited to Russ Bjorn, shows a group of people on a walkway within the park, right next to the massive animal.

A woman can be seen extending her hand, trying to pet the bison. However, it then lunges forward, as if it is about to charge.

The woman runs away, falling over as she does so. She and the rest of the group can be heard squealing in fright.

The bison fortunately does not move any further and leaves the woman and the rest of the party alone. Newsweek has contacted the park for comment.

In Yellowstone, the bison population ranges from 2,300 to 5,500 animals. They can become very aggressive if they are approached and feel threatened. The bovines are actually responsible for more injuries in Yellowstone National Park than any other animal.

For this reason, the National Park Service enforces a rule wherein all visitors must stay at least 25 yards from bison at all times.

Bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and are capable of throwing grown men into the air "like rag dolls," according to the NPS. On average, bison injure one or two people in Yellowstone every year, according to a 2018 study.

Owing to bisons' herd instincts, they are sensitive to outsiders and easily agitated when they feel threatened, according to the NPS website. Despite their large size, they are able to run much faster than humans, up to 35 miles per hour.

Most bison attacks occur when people ignore the 25 yards rule and get too close.

In June last year, a 71-year-old visitor at Yellowstone National Park was gored by a bison after she came too close to the animal. This was the third such attack within the span of a few months at the time.

The NPS has strict rules in place regarding wildlife in Yellowstone as interfering with them and approaching them can seriously affect their well-being. Yellowstone preserves natural processes, unlike zoos and wildlife sanctuaries.

Last week, a newborn bison calf had to be killed after a visitor intentionally interfered as it tried to cross a river, Yellowstone said in a statement.

An unidentified middle-aged man approached the calf on May 20 in Lamar Valley near the Lamar River and Soda Creek, the park said in a statement. The calf had been separated from its herd as it struggled to cross the river and it wasn't with its mother at the time.

As a result of the man's interference, the calf was rejected by the rest of its herd and began being disruptive to the rest of the park. It then had to be euthanized.

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