Woman Launched 10-Feet After Being Gored by Bison at Yellowstone

An Ohio woman was launched ten-feet in the air after being gored by a bison at Yellowstone National Park on Monday, according to park officials.

In a press release, park officials said that as the bison was walking “near a boardwalk at Black Sand Basin (just north of Old Faithful),” the 25-year-old woman of Grave City, Ohio, approached and got within ten feet of the animal.

The bison then gored the woman, launching her ten-feet into the air, leaving her with a puncture wound and additional injuries, according to the release. Emergency medical personnel at Yellowstone immediately responded to the scene, and the woman was subsequently conveyed to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center via ambulance.

Officials emphasized that park “regulations require visitors to remain more than 25 yards (23 m) away from bison,” adding that two more people were also within 25 yards of the animal when the incident occurred.

The park added:

When an animal is near a campsite, trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, give it space. Stay more than 25 yards (23 m) away from all large animals – bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes and at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves. If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal in close proximity.

Yellowstone Park is home to a bison population that “fluctuates from 2,300 to 5,500 animals in two subpopulations,” the National Park Service states. The species is responsible for more injuries to humans than any other animal in Yellowstone and can be “unpredictable,” according to the release.

The release said Monday’s goring was the “first reported incident in 2022 of a visitor threatening a bison (getting too close to the animal) and the bison responding to the threat by goring the individual.”

Officials are continuing to investigate the incident.

Editor’s Note: At the time of publication, this article, citing NBC News reporting, initially stated that the woman died after being gored by a bison. She did not die, and this article has been updated to clarify this fact.