A photographer in Yellowstone National Park has captured rare footage showing a bison stampede that involved hundreds of animals and lasted several minutes.
A photographer in Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday captured rare footage showing a bison stampede that involved hundreds of animals and lasted several minutes.
“I’m not sure what spooked these bison, if anything at all, but there was a legitimate stampede of hundreds of them today in Lamar Valley!” Trent Sizemore boasted via Facebook. “There were many more behind us coming from over the ridge as well.”
Bison have existed in what’s now Yellowstone National Park continuously since prehistoric times. Stampedes are not new, but park visitors rarely observe stampedes involving so many animals.
“I’ve seen some smaller herds running before, but not anywhere near that many,” Sizemore told ForTheWin Outdoors. “We watched them for probably five or six minutes before they settled down.”
A tourist in Yellowstone National Park was seriously injured Monday when she was gored by a bison while trying to walk away from the animal.
A tourist in Yellowstone National Park was seriously injured Monday when she was gored by a bison while trying to walk away from the animal.
The 47-year-old woman, visiting from Arizona, suffered “significant injuries to her chest and abdomen,” according to a park news release. She was airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for treatment.
The morning incident – the first involving a bison attacking a tourist in 2023 – occurred near the Lake Lodge Cabins on the north shore of Yellowstone Lake.
Apparently, the woman and another tourist turned to walk away from bison that had gathered in the area. One animal charged and gored the woman.
Footage captured recently in Yellowstone National Park shows a man trapped in a restroom while a massive bison grazes just outside.
It’s not often that a tourist inside a Yellowstone National Park restroom becomes the center of attention. But when a massive bison takes a position just outside the restroom, that becomes inevitable.
On Tuesday, footage of such an incident was shared to a Yellowstone-themed Facebook page. It shows the man looking through a slightly open door as the bison grazes outside, and amused tourists watching from the restroom lot.
“This young bison was sleeping on the outskirts of it’s herd when it was caught off guard by a group of wolves. Separated from the herd, I thought for sure the wolves were on their way to securing an easy meal.
“Then, seemingly out of no where, two adult bison from the nearby herd came barreling onto the scene to protect the youngster, almost trampling the calf in the process.”
Wolves in Yellowstone prey on bison calves – along with elk, deer and other mammals – and have been known to attack adult bison if an animal appears vulnerable.
Bison are the largest land mammals in North America and can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds. More than 5,000 bison inhabit Yellowstone National Park.
–Generic bison image courtesy of NPS/Yellowstone National Park
Nigels wrote in the video description: “The Yellowstone bison can be very dangerous up close. However, in this moment, they were simply trying to cross the boardwalk and wanted nothing to do with the surrounding people.”
The footage is also reminiscent of a scene that played out last year, involving a bison that had placed its massive head on a boardwalk and used it as a chin scratcher.
Images captured by Ken Carleton showed the bison surrounded by tourists who gathered to witness the spectacle. Their proximity to the gargantuan animal drew the ire of park staff, which described the situation as “unsafe.”
Photo: Ken Carleton
To be sure, while boardwalks are designed to protect visitors from thermal features (and the features themselves), they do not keep people safe from large animals.
In fact, last June a man was gored while walking with his family on a boardwalk.
A few weeks earlier, a woman was gored and tossed 10 feet into the air after she approached a bison near a boardwalk.
Both incidents occurred near Old Faithful.
So while walking on boardwalks is enjoyable and might seem safe, it’s only safe if people follow the park-wide 25-yard distance rule.
Video footage captured in Yellowstone National Park shows dozens of bison charging downhill in a scene the photographer said was reminiscent of “old westerns.”
On Wednesday we featured video footage showing dozens of bison stampeding across a bridge in Yellowstone National Park.
They included newly born calves, or “red dogs,” and the woman who captured the footage last Sunday said the bridge shook as the bison approached her vehicle.
But also worth noting, in the same footage captured by Vanessa Lynn-Byerly, is the remarkable agility bison possess despite their hulking appearance (male bison can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds).
The first 15 seconds show the bison charging down a steep hillside and kicking up dust in a scene Lynn Byerly said was reminiscent of “those old westerns” her parents like to watch.
Two more bison are shown running downhill at 35 seconds.
Yellowstone National Park is home to about 5,000 bison and each year a handful of tourists are injured, mostly after approaching the animals and failing to show them proper respect.
The Department of the Interior notes on its website: “Bison may be big, but they’re also fast. They can run up to 35 miles per hour. Plus, they’re extremely agile. Bison can spin around, jump high fences and are strong swimmers.”
It was not clear what started the stampede witnessed by Lynn-Byerly.
As Yellowstone National Park begins a new season, some are wondering who will become the first tourist to be gored or tossed by a bison.
Yellowstone National Park last Friday opened select roads to signal the beginning of a new season, and while this is great news it also begs a question:
Who will become the first tourist to be gored or tossed by a bison?
Folks on Yellowstone-themed social media pages are joking about a new “tossing season.”
The accompanying tweet by the National Park Service replaces the lyrics of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” to make the song about a bison in need of “more space and fresh air” after a scuffle with a reckless tourist.
🎶In west Yellowstone, I was born and raised
On the valley floor was where I spent most of my days
Wallowin’, grunting, relaxing all cool
Last season, the first documented contact between a bison and tourist was May 30, when a 25-year-old woman approached a bison near Old Faithful. She was subsequently gored and “tossed 10 feet into the air,” according to the park.
The woman was hospitalized with multiple injuries.
Photo: NPS / Jacob W. Frank
The park stated: “This is the first reported incident in 2022 of a visitor threatening a bison (getting too close to the animal) and the bison responding to the threat by goring the individual.
“Bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal. They are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans.”
Bison can weigh 2,000 pounds and run 30 mph. Although they usually appear docile, their demeanor can change in an instant.
Photo: NPS / Yellowstone National Park
Last June 27, a 34-year-old man was gored by near Giant Geyser at Old Faithful as he and his family walked on a boardwalk.
“Family members did not leave the area, and the bull bison continued to charge and gored the male,” the park stated, adding that the man was hospitalized with an arm injury.
On June 29, a 71-year-old woman was gored at Yellowstone Lake after “the woman and her daughter inadvertently approached the bison as they were returning to their vehicle at the trailhead, causing the bull bison to charge.”
The woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at a hospital in Cody, Wyoming.
Photo: NPS / Yellowstone National Park
These were the most serious incidents documented last year and do not take into account the many visitors who acted foolishly but befitted from the restraint exercised by the iconic critters.
Presently, bison are utilizing recently opened roads as travel routes after a severe winter that covered the park with with an unusually heavy snowpack.
Of course, all large animals in the park deserve a wide berth.
The park last week cautioned:
“Be mindful as they endure this hardest part of the year. Bison and elk often use roads as travel corridors when the snow is deep, and higher than usual snowbanks this year prevent them from easily moving off the road. Stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves, and 25 yards from all other wildlife.
A large bison was captured on video recently head-butting a small car in Yellowstone National Park, proving again that these animals warrant a wide berth.
A large bison was captured on video recently headbutting a small car in Yellowstone National Park, proving again that these animals warrant a wide berth.
The accompanying footage, uploaded to YouTube on Sunday, shows the motorist idling on a road in Hayden Valley, seemingly from a safe distance.
But this is the bison rut, or mating season, and some of the animals can be ornery at times.
The YouTube user, xConcertChicksx, wrote in the description:
“This large bison was standing still in the middle of the road, so cars stopped in both directions with plenty of room between them and the bison. Along comes another bison from the valley, up to the road, much closer to car.
“The larger bison then decides to walk over to the smaller (yet still large) bison. That’s when this happened. Just think if he really put all his force into the ram. Luckily no one was hurt, not even the bison.”
The tourist might have had an interesting conversation with his insurance company, though, because the bison appears to have to have caused minor front-end damage.
