Yellowstone bison chases child after visitors get too close

A video shared by Brittany Peteler showed a bison chasing a child at Yellowstone National Park after a group walked near the animal near Mud Volcano and Fishing Bridge. The woman in the footage walked past safely before the child was chased, a split-second shift that showed how quickly a tourist stop can turn hazardous.

Yellowstone tells visitors to stay at least 25 yards, or 75 feet, from bison. Park guidance says the animals are unpredictable and can run up to 35 mph, or 56 km/h, so visitors are told to move away if a bison approaches and to run or find cover if it charges.

The close call came just weeks after a separate bison attack on Carl McDaniel, a grandfather who was thrown into the air at Yellowstone. The park also said a 12-year-old visitor was injured by a bison and transported to a nearby hospital, though officials did not describe the extent of the injuries.

The danger is not hypothetical. A peer-reviewed study of Yellowstone bison encounters from 2000 to 2015 found that 25 people were injured, including 21 visitors and four employees. Even though those incidents are uncommon compared with the number of people who see bison each year, the injuries have ranged from brief encounters to serious attacks, and Yellowstone officials continue to stress that large animals do not respond like park scenery.

Yellowstone and the National Park Service have repeatedly urged visitors to protect wildlife and respect safety rules, especially around bison, elk and other large animals. The latest video adds another case where a few steps too many brought a child into the path of a charging animal, and where the park’s distance warnings were ignored before the animal reacted.