A bison gored a man in Yellowstone National Park on Sunday after the man approached the animal, according to the National Park Service.
The man, 47, who is from Cape Coral, Fla., sustained minor injuries and was treated by emergency medical staff. The incident, which is under investigation, is the fourth bison-related injury in the park since 2023.
Last year, an 83-year-old woman from South Carolina sustained serious injuries after being lifted about a foot off the ground by a bison’s horns.
Just months prior, a 40-year-old man, who was under the influence of alcohol, was injured after he harassed a herd of bison and kicked one of the animals in the leg.
In 2023, a bison charged and gored a 47-year-old woman, who sustained significant injuries. Also that year, a man pleaded guilty to one count of feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or intentionally disturbing wildlife after interacting with a newborn bison calf, which was then rejected from its herd and had to be euthanized.
Yellowstone is home to the country’s largest bison population on public land, and it is the only place in the United States where the species has lived continuously since prehistoric times.
Bison in the United States were hunted almost to extinction in the late 1800s. Their dramatic decline was in part because of U.S. government policies that encouraged hunting the animal, according to the park service and other researchers. The effort was a way to force Native American tribes into reservations, because the tribes relied on bison for food, clothing, tools and shelter.
These efforts reduced the population from at least 30 million, according to the National Park Service, to less than 1,000 by the 1890s.
By 1902 Yellowstone had about two dozen bison. Over the past century the park has managed to restore the population to more than 5,000 bison, which roam largely freely in herds throughout the park and some neighboring areas of Montana. The park calls this effort “one of the great triumphs of American conservation.”
Bison have also injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal, experts say, largely because of tourists who wrongly assume the animals are tame and gentle. Bison defend their space when threatened, and can run three times faster than humans.
The National Park Service includes tips on its website for avoiding animal attacks in Yellowstone National Park, including:
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Never approach wildlife. Stay inside your car if possible. If animals approach you, turn around and move away.
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Stay at least 25 yards away from large animals like bison, deer, moose and coyotes.
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For bears and wolves stay even farther away — at least 100 yards.
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Bison often bob their heads, paw at the ground, bellow or snort when they are about to charge. If this happens, walk or run away. Do not stand your ground.
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Keep food and other items with strong smells packed away.
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Never feed wildlife. They may become aggressive if they grow dependent on food from humans and will have to be killed.
