A 47-year-old man hailing from Cape Coral, Florida, experienced a close encounter of the painful kind during a recent visit to Yellowstone National Park. The Florida man was gored by a bison in the Lake Village area on Sunday, prompting park officials to issue a reminder about the critical importance of maintaining a safe distance from the park’s wildlife.
According to the National Park Service (NPS), the incident occurred when the Florida man ventured too close to the massive herbivore. While the injuries sustained by the Florida man were thankfully deemed minor and he received on-site medical attention, the event serves as a stark warning about the potential dangers of interacting with Yellowstone’s iconic animals.
Yellowstone National Park mandates that visitors keep a minimum distance of 25 yards from all wildlife, a figure that extends to a significant 100 yards when it comes to predators such as bears and wolves. These regulations are in place not only for the safety of park visitors but also for the well-being of the animals themselves.
This incident marks the first reported bison-related injury in Yellowstone in 2025. In the preceding years, there were two such incidents in 2024 and one in 2023. Notably, bison have a history of causing more injuries to humans in Yellowstone than any other animal within the park. Their unpredictable nature, coupled with their surprising speed – capable of reaching speeds three times faster than humans – makes close encounters particularly risky.
Past incidents underscore this danger. In 2024, an 83-year-old woman suffered serious injuries after a bison gored her, even lifting her a foot off the ground with its horns. Around the same time, a video of a woman posing dangerously close to a bison went viral, highlighting a concerning trend of visitors disregarding safety guidelines in pursuit of a photo opportunity.
The NPS emphasizes that approaching bison is not only perilous for humans but also constitutes a direct threat to the animals. Bison may react to perceived threats with behaviors such as bluff charging, head bobbing, pawing the ground, bellowing, or snorting. The safest and most responsible way to observe Yellowstone’s magnificent wildlife is from a distance, utilizing binoculars or a zoom lens to fully appreciate them without causing stress or putting oneself at risk.
The NPS statement reminds us of the long and significant history of bison in North America: “For thousands of years, millions of bison shaped ecological communities across North America.” The North American bison we see today have roamed the continent for approximately 5,000 years, and prior to European settlement, their populations thrived in the tens of thousands, stretching from northern Mexico to interior Alaska and from California to New York and Georgia.
The bison population within Yellowstone National Park has fluctuated between 3,500 and nearly 6,000 in recent years, a testament to the park’s role in their conservation. However, their continued presence necessitates vigilance and respect from all visitors. The recent goring of the Florida man serves as a timely reminder: admire Yellowstone’s majestic bison from a safe distance – for your safety and theirs.
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