- A 65-year-old man was injured by a charging bison at Yellowstone after attempting to photograph it with his grandson.
- Witnesses recorded the bison flipping the man approximately 8 feet into the air before he landed on the ground.
- Bison are responsible for more injuries at Yellowstone than any other animal, contrary to common visitor assumptions about wildlife risks.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING — Less than two weeks after a 28-year-old man was dragged to his death by a crocodile at a Puerto Vallarta resort beach while a California couple watched helplessly and tried to save him, another wildlife attack is making headlines — this time at America's most famous national park. A 65-year-old grandfather and his grandson stopped to photograph a bison at Yellowstone on Friday evening. Seconds later, the animal was in the air — and so was the grandfather.
A Photo Opportunity That Turned Dangerous in Seconds
It was Friday evening at Bridge Bay Campground near Yellowstone Lake, in the final hour before sunset. Carl Isom-McDaniel and his grandson were walking through the campground area when they spotted a large bull bison resting in the grass ahead. They slowed to a stop and raised their cameras to take a picture.
The bison was not asleep.
Video recorded by witness Mike McLeod shows the animal flopping repeatedly on its side in an agitated manner before suddenly hopping to its feet. A white truck nearby slowly pulled closer to the scene. The bison turned and charged the truck — the driver hit the gas and took off immediately.
The animal did not stop. It kept moving, kicking up a cloud of dirt as it gained speed and turned its attention toward Isom-McDaniel and his grandson.
He Was Flipped Into the Air
The two ran through a thicket of trees trying to put distance between themselves and the charging animal. The grandson made it through. The bison caught up to Isom-McDaniel before he could get clear.
"The bison hooked him with his left horn on his hip and tossed him in the air," McLeod told the Cowboy State Daily. "He made a perfect flip and landed on his side."
The impact sent the 65-year-old approximately 8 feet into the air before he landed hard on the ground. McLeod said Isom-McDaniel was in significant pain, particularly with his leg, but remained conscious throughout the ordeal.
"He was in a lot of pain with his leg, and otherwise he was conscious the whole time," McLeod said. "In good spirits, joking."
Isom-McDaniel was later taken to a hospital. The National Park Service has not publicly released any details about his condition or about the incident.
Yellowstone's Most Dangerous Animal Is Not What You Think
Most visitors to Yellowstone expect the greatest wildlife risk to come from wolves or bears. The reality documented by the National Park Service is different.
Bison have injured more people at Yellowstone than any other animal in the park's history. Despite their tendency to appear calm and indifferent to tourists, a bull bison weighing up to 2,000 pounds can reach speeds of approximately three times that of an average human runner. They can shift from still to charging in an instant — exactly as the video from Bridge Bay Campground shows.
NPS guidelines are clear on the rules: visitors must maintain a minimum distance of 25 yards — roughly 23 meters — from bison at all times. The agency's website explicitly states that visitors should "never approach a bison to take a photo."
In the video, Isom-McDaniel and his grandson appear to have been at what looked like a reasonable distance from the resting animal. The speed at which the bison rose and closed that gap illustrates exactly why the 25-yard rule exists.
A Busy Season and a Familiar Warning
Summer is the busiest period at Yellowstone by a wide margin. According to NPS data, nearly 60% of all annual visits to the park occur during June, July, and August alone — meaning the campgrounds, trails, and wildlife areas are filled with millions of people, many of whom have never encountered a large wild animal before.
Bison incidents are reported nearly every summer, and wildlife officials repeat the same guidance year after year. Keep your distance. Do not approach for photos. Assume the animal can move faster than you can.
For Carl Isom-McDaniel and his grandson, that warning came too late for Friday evening — but not too late for him to walk away from the hospital with a story he will be telling for a long time.
To view more cases of shocking wildlife encounters and dangerous incidents caught on camera, check out our video here:
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