News

Actions

Woman injured by bison in Yellowstone National Park after getting too close

Posted at 5:57 PM, Jun 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-07 19:57:49-04

(GREAT FALLS) A woman was gored by a bison in Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday, June 6th.

According to a press release from the park, Kim Hancock of California, 59 years old, was gored by a bull bison at Fountain Paint Pot in the Lower Geyser Basin.

Hancock and a crowd of people approached within 10 yards of the bison while walking along a boardwalk. At one point people were closer than 15 feet from the bison.

When it crossed the boardwalk, the bison became agitated and charged the crowd, goring Hancock. The bison immediately left the area. 

Rangers responded to the incident and treated Hancock for a hip injury: she was taken by paramedic ambulance to the Big Sky Medical Center in Big Sky and is said to be in good condition.

Park staff do not intend to capture nor kill the bison.

This incident is being investigated by Park staff; there is no word yet on whether the woman will be cited.

This is the second time that a park visitor has been injured by a bison in 2018. There was one incident in 2017 and five in 2015.

In a little over a month, four people have been injured by wildlife in Yellowstone; two people were attacked by elk within the last few days (click here for details).

Animals in Yellowstone are wild and unpredictable, no matter how calm they appear to be. Give animals space when they’re near trails, boardwalks, parking lots, or in developed areas. Always stay at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves, and at least 25 yards (23 m) away from all other animals, including bison and elk. If you can’t maintain these distances, turn around and find an alternate route. Read more about safety in the park.

div[data-mml-type=”relatedcategory”]{border: thin solid #e7e7e7;} .categories-right-icon{display: none;} .stories-area > hr{margin: 0px;} .stories-area > iframe {border: white;} div[data-mml-type]{ overflow: hidden; } div[data-mml-status=”draft”] {display: none !important;} div.fb-post span, div.fb-post span iframe{max-width: 100%;} div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].left, div[data-mml-type=”instagram”].left, div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].left{ float: left; position: relative; overflow:hidden; max-width:100%;}div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].right,div[data-mml-type=”instagram”].right,div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].right{ float: right; position: relative; overflow:hidden; max-width:100%;}div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].center,div[data-mml-type=”instagram”].center,div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].center{ width: 100% !important; overflow:hidden; text-align: center;}div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].center iframe,div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].center twitterwidget,div[data-mml-type=”instagram”].center iframe,div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].center iframe{ margin: auto !important;}div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].center > span{ margin: auto !important; display: block !important;} .mml-display-none{display: none !important;} div[data-mml-type=”gmaps”], div[data-mml-type=”youtube”] {position:relative; width:100%; padding-bottom:56.25%;} div[data-mml-type=”gmaps”] iframe, div[data-mml-type=”youtube”] iframe {position:absolute; left:0; top:0;} div[data-embed-type=”clip”],div[data-mml-type=”clip”]{position: relative;padding-bottom: 56.25%;width: 100%;box-sizing: border-box;} div[data-embed-type=”clip”] iframe { position: absolute;}}div[data-embed-type=”social”], {position: relative;padding-bottom: 56.25%;width: 100%;box-sizing: border-box;} div[data-embed-type=”social”] iframe,div[data-mml-type=”clip”] iframe { position: absolute;}}.frankly-img{max-width:100%;}.mce-item-table{word-break: break-all;}