Recent bison attacks that left two women gravely injured apparently weren’t enough to dissuade a man with a small child in his arms from walking right up to a bison in Yellowstone.
Somebody nearby caught a video of the foolhardy act and posted it Tuesday on the “Tourons of Yellowstone” social media site.
Seeing Red
The video was shot recently near Old Faithful. Taken from behind, the brief clip zooms in on a man dressed in dark colors. He’s holding a squirming child in one arm, while apparently using his phone in the other hand to shoot his own video of a massive bison just a few feet away.
He and another man, dressed in red, appear to have the bison boxed in, right next to two buildings, making the situation even more dangerous.
Noted Wyoming outdoorsman Paul Ulrich of Pinedale said, sarcastically, that the men’s actions were “brilliant.”
“Yeah, not only bring a small child, but a dipshit dressed in bullseye red right next to you,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
“Have these guys never seen a bullfight?” he added.
Mating Season Adds Another Level Of Danger
To make matters worse, August is the height of the rut, or mating season for bison. That can make the huge animals even more aggressive and less tolerant than usual of stupid human tricks.
Authorities think the rut might have factored into two recent bison attacks that left women gravely injured in Yellowstone and North Dakota.
In the first attack, a bison charged and gored a 47-year-old Arizona woman near Lake Lodge in Yellowstone. She suffered severe injuries to her chest and abdomen and was life-flighted to an Idaho hospital, according to the National Park Service.
Another woman suffered ghastly injuries when a bison charged and stomped her at about in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, according to reports.
National Park Service rule state that tourists must stay at least 25 yards away from bison in national parks.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
