A California woman was gored by the very bison she was attempting to photograph at Yellowstone National Park.
The National Park Service said on Monday that the bison felt "threatened" due to the 72-year-old woman getting within 10 feet, which—though this should go without saying—is strongly advised against by bison scholars. The incident went down on June 25 at a Bridge Bay Campground campsite. According to NPS, the woman was left with "multiple goring wounds" and received immediate medical assistance before being transported to a nearby hospital.
"The series of events that led to the goring suggest the bison was threatened by being repeatedly approached to within 10 feet," Yellowstone's senior bison biologist Chris Geremia said in a statement. "Bison are wild animals that respond to threats by displaying aggressive behaviors like pawing the ground, snorting, bobbing their head, bellowing, and raising their tail. If that doesn't make the threat (in this instance it was a person) move away, a threatened bison may charge. To be safe around bison, stay at least 25 yards away, move away if they approach, and run away or find cover if they charge."
As of June 29, the goring remained under investigation. "There is no additional information to share," an NPS rep said.
The last time we heard from the bison side of the news sector, a social distancing era meme was born after a reporter's unintentional close encounter with a herd was briefly caught on camera:
