BILLINGS — A man is recovering from multiple broken bones after a bison tossed him into the air during a walk with his grandson in Yellowstone National Park, and experts say the attack was tied to the animal's peak mating season.
The entire incident was caught on camera, with Carl Isom-McDaniel stopping to take a picture of the bison and walking away before the animal charged.
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"We saw the bison and he was down, he wasn't showing aggression or anything like that," Isom-McDaniel said, from his hospital bed at Bozeman Health.
That changed in an instant. The bison shifted its attention to Isom-McDaniel, chasing him around a tree before launching him into the air.
"They move faster than you could ever imagine," Isom-McDaniel said. "It picked a target. That target happened to be me."
Isom-McDaniel tried to run, but the bison continued its pursuit.
"He just kept coming and he was more aggressive and as soon as he got off that tree he launched me in the air," Isom-McDaniel said.
Isom-McDaniel was transported to Bozeman Health, where he has been treated for multiple broken bones near his hip. He said he is grateful the outcome was not worse.
"Even though I was on the ground, he could've stomped me, he could've gored me, he could've done anything," Isom-McDaniel said.
ZooMontana Assistant Curator Allyson Welborn said McDaniel did nothing wrong based on the time of year when the incident happened.
"I don't think he did anything wrong and he was just caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time," Welborn said Sunday afternoon.
Welborn said the bison's behavior is consistent with rut, the animal's peak mating season, which typically runs from mid-July through the end of August.
"It's all normal things to impress the ladies and unfortunately, impressing the ladies included chasing after a poor tourist," Welborn said.
Welborn urged visitors to use extra caution around bison during this time of year.
"Personally, I wouldn't get out of my vehicle at all this time of year because obviously we saw what happens," Welborn said. "He did everything right. He snapped that photo and kept on going."
Yellowstone National Park announced the bison will not be euthanized or relocated. Both Welborn and McDaniel said they support that decision.
"Wild animals. We're encroaching on their space in the national parks, so yeah, I'm happy he's not being euthanized," Welborn said.
