2 Days After Reopening, a Bison Attack at Yellowstone

Woman 'knocked to the ground' when she got too close
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 21, 2020 6:17 AM CDT
2 Days After Reopening, a Bison Attack at Yellowstone
Stock photo of a bison at Yellowstone National Park.   (Getty Images/MBPROJEKT_Maciej_Bledowski)

Yellowstone National Park had been shut down for almost two months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, so naturally people were excited to flock back there when it partially reopened Monday. The animals there—maybe not so much. Officials report that on Wednesday, a female visitor to the park was "knocked to the ground and injured by a bison in the Old Faithful Upper Geyser Basin after approaching the animal too closely," USA Today reports. How extensive the woman's injuries were isn't clear. "She was assessed and refused transport to a medical facility," the National Park Service said in a statement, per NBC News.

Visitors to the park are advised to stay at least 25 yards away from large animals such as bison, moose, deer, and coyotes, and at least a full 100 yards away from wolves and bears. The bison attack is said to be the first of the year in one of America's national parks. Yellowstone—which is mostly in Wyoming but also stretches into Montana and Idaho—had been just two days into a phased reopening, with the lower loop of the park open for sightseeing. Two of its entrances are in Wyoming, which has relaxed out-of-state travel restrictions, per a park release cited by CNN. The other three entrances remain closed, as Montana and Idaho's travel restrictions remain in place. The incident is under investigation. (More Yellowstone National Park stories.)

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