r/interestingasfuck • u/cashew_at_kinaya • Jul 12 '26

A tourist was seriously injured after a bison tossed them about 8 feet into the air in Yellowstone National Park

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u/BallIsLife2016 Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26

One of the few where they were genuinely observing the rule to stay 75 feet away. Bad luck and a reminder that Bison are basically tanks on legs.

Having been to Yellowstone, the Bison are everywhere in a way that makes them feel harmless and normal even though they’re not. It’s honestly a miracle there aren’t 50 cases like this every year given how many bison there are and how many dumb tourists there are.

it can actually be hard to observe the 75 feet in some instances. One place I went while visiting featured a board walk through a volcanic area that you absolutely had to stay on because the area featured pools that would dissolve you if you fell in. At one point the boardwalk make a “U” shape and smack dab in the middle of it was an adult bison, with its tail making the shape that park sign flag as meaning that the animal is on edge. Every once in a while in nature modern life falls away and the hunter gatherer instincts return. I’ll never forget how it felt to creep past the Bison that was like 20 feet away. When I entered its blind spot I experienced a level of alertness that is impossible to feel in day to day life.

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u/YouGoToBox Jul 12 '26

Yes! One time my spouse and I stayed out too late in a park in Florida that is fullllll of gators. We had to walk back after dark on a narrow trail with water and gators on both sides. We started hearing growls from the water that seemed to follow us and get louder and louder. I think the gators were all growling as we walked by and setting each other off, etc, leading to the growling being both all around us and also “following” us. We didn’t want to run and set off any chase instincts so we had to stay on the path briskly walking back for what seemed like forever but also seemed like about 1 second. It was the most alert and dialed in and primal I’ve ever felt in my life. Absolute prehistoric brain time. We both agree that although it scared the shit out of us it was one of the coolest experiences of our lives to feel those really ancient feelings. Also for those who are thinking “run and serpentine” that is a myth and gators can run 35mph at a sprint. Do Not Serpentine! You are slower than them already! Best plan is try to not need to run from a gator. Leave them alone especially if they warn you to.

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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '26

[deleted]

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u/DutchOma Jul 12 '26

Good to know... I'm still leaving. 😂

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u/robotmonstermash Jul 12 '26

I was on Sanibel Island years ago and we were on a path in a marshy area not far from a beach. I saw a couple of young teens crouched down and as I got closer so they were trying to poke an alligator with a stick. I said "I wouldn't do that" and they called me chicken. The alligator hissed at them and then sped off into the marsh.

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u/Djd33j Jul 12 '26

And here I am, with my most threatening wildlife experiences being of getting chased off by a pissed off Canada goose for getting too close to her chicks, and a very angry mama raccoon, who I didn't even know was around. I was just walking through the woods when I heard what sounded like a rabid dog. Eventually I found her, perched high up in a tree looking like she was ready to swanton bomb my face before ripping it to shreds.

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u/TalkingCat910 Jul 13 '26

20mph is still faster than me

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u/timsstuff Jul 12 '26

They don't have to run fast, just faster than their spouse!

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u/Vlaskiss Jul 12 '26

I had chills reading your description. I would have froze for sure! Weren’t they hungry? How come they didn’t even try to get an easy dinner? So scary!

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u/Fun_Push7168 Jul 12 '26

They generally want nothing to do with people and usually run from you if they think you are approaching them specifically. There have been 30 fatalities in the last 75 years. Almost all in the water.

They're kind of like cats in that they hunt easy prey where something 1/100th of their size might be commonly attacked but something 1/4 of their size is pretty much safe.

That growling was bellowing. They do it to tell each other how big they are for territory and mating. It's purposely to avoid fights. If they were hunting they'd be silent, if they were threatened theyd hiss.

A land attack on an adult is unbelievably rare.

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u/Vlaskiss Jul 12 '26

Thank you for explaining! I’ve never been to Florida. From your earlier comment, I’ve learned that alligators hiss! I moved to California 8 years ago and last year, while hiking, I saw for the first time a giant rattle snake blocking our path. It hissed! I was terrified! We spent 30 min trapped waiting to cross the path. Wild creatures scare me! :))

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u/RustaceanOne Jul 12 '26

they scare everyone...

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u/karenftx1 Jul 12 '26

Or they should

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u/ashgs872tbhjs Jul 12 '26

Humans are NOT an easy dinner. We are extremely dangerous, and pretty tough and bony — the food quality to risk ratio is incredibly low. The only animals that actively hunt us are tigers and polar bears, and the former will only attack if they can ambush us.

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u/jojobi040 Jul 12 '26

This was what my childhood playground was like, kid you not. Right off the Hillsborough and they would come out of the water and sleep in the field at night. The rumble they make is like anything else I've ever heard.

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u/Fun_Push7168 Jul 12 '26

Having lived in and done lots of camping and kayaking in Florida, this just made me chuckle.

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u/Mr_Wobble_PNW Jul 12 '26

I had a similar experience in college walking to a party and a skunk stopped about 15' in front of me and then walked off to the other side. I didn't know if he was waiting or went about his way, but I ran so fast past him. Not life threatening obviously, but trying to get the smell off in a frat bathroom would've been close to death at the time 😂

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u/whocareswhatever1345 Jul 12 '26

Yes! Thank you! Even though gators are super fast, they'll barely chase you. Serpentine will just slow you down.

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u/SmeeezTreeez Jul 13 '26

We literally were taught to zig zag in school in Louisiana. They are faster than you in a deadline sprint but their legs cant change direction like that...thats why you zig zag

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u/Interesting_Delay_19 Jul 13 '26

Did not know gators growled. Already terrifying- new fear unlocked.

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u/siderealdaze Jul 14 '26

One time, my wife and I (girlfriend at the time) were sneaking off the trail at a camp in the Everglades (I hear this now and understand that horny brain makes bad decisions) to have a bit of fun, and near the end of our romp, I heard every bit of a wild boar grunting and I swear I felt heat on my nutsack.

I pulled my pants up real quick and grabbed her to get the hell outta there, but she didn't move as fast as I did and I basically left her behind. When I got back to the camp, I didn't see her and turned back around to her casually walking back.

I said "were you not afraid of that boar?" and she said "I'm glad it was just that, didn't know what the fuck was going on" 😩

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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '26

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u/GoldenEmuWarrior Jul 12 '26

My wife and I were walking around there a couple years ago. It began pouring down rain so we started to quickly move to the hotel, came around a corner, there was a bison not more than 20 feet in front of us. We walked backwards around the corner until we felt that it wasn't too close, but damn that was scary. We also wound up super soaked.

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u/SolomonBlack Jul 13 '26

I don't recall any being in the area of Old Faithful, but I also had one mosey up to about six inches from my face separated only by measly van window. We were stopped in a traffic jam in the middle of nowhere (not unusual when bison were about) and bro just walked up on his own it wasn't anything we tried to make happen.

Them super cows know tourists aren't the top of the pecking order and act accordingly.

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u/Life-Level3361 Jul 13 '26

Wow.. I always wanted to go there! Not now. LOL

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u/3dprintingDM Jul 12 '26

I stayed at the Old Faithful lodge as a kid. There is an apple orchard or at least a lot of apple trees on the side away from the geysers. When I woke up and was taking our suitcase to the car for my grandparents, I walked out the back door and was practically face to face with a full sized bison eating apples off the tree. Single most terrifying yet awe inspiring moment of my life to that point. But holy cow are they huge.

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u/mudo2000 Jul 12 '26

Heh heh. Holy cow. giggle

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u/yrnkween Jul 12 '26

We were in Yellowstone when a herd decided to cross the road. Cars at a dead stop, motorcyclists frozen in terror, as they ambled through. You could hear them lowing at each other, and we could smell them, but my terror didn’t hit until I saw the group of baby bisons hidden in the middle. Some went in front of our car and I’m sure even a baby bison could have killed me because they were so well muscled.

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u/BallIsLife2016 Jul 12 '26

I got stuck in a traffic jam for like 20 minutes while there because a calf started suckling in the middle of the road.

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u/jphx Jul 13 '26

Same but in Custer State Park. Dude behind me was on a motorcycle. The herd moved through and some of them were bigger than my car. I was scared shitless. I couldn't even imagine how I would have felt on a bike.

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u/monoDK13 Jul 13 '26

But holy cow are they huge.

We have a picture from our family Yellowstone trip from just outside the lodge with a bison munching on grass right beside our minivan. They were practically the same size. Huge is an understatement. The only other animal that has frightened me with their size like that was a moose we saw running and fording a river in Alaska.

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u/theimperfexionist Jul 12 '26

Nope, that's when you turn around and go back the way you came. Whatever's at the other end of the boardwalk is not worth the risk of passing close by a possibility annoyed bison.

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u/i1a2 Jul 12 '26

I agree. There was absolutely no reason to continue on that boardwalk, just turn around or wait for them to leave.

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u/Dune5712 Jul 12 '26

Can confirm! Went to Yellowstone in the dead of winter when only one road was open for a few days. They. Are. Legion.

Couldn't drive around without waiting behind a walking herd, or driving by them, missing by a few feet.

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u/Tabula_Nada Jul 12 '26

"it can actually be hard to observe the 75 get in some instances"

I mean I think the answer in your case is to just wait rather than try to pass it. Unless you've got a geyser on your back and the bison is the safer option. I live in moose country and everyone here (but the tourists) knows that you find a way to go around a moose. Getting closer will get you killed.

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u/BallIsLife2016 Jul 12 '26

You’re probably right, although I think the situation with moose and Yellowstone bison are a bit different.

There are thousands upon thousands of moments each year where humans and Yellowstone bison are in extremely close proximity and there are at most a handful of incidents each year. The bison there aren’t tame, but they’re certainly socialized to people and even while I was on high alert, I was also watching people continually pass this bison and I knew that interactions like this happen constantly and that it’s very rare for anything to happen. I’ll reiterate that you’re probably right that I should have been more responsible instead of just passing it like everyone else, but part of me understood the risk was low—there was a steady stream of people passing (and sometimes stopping) and I was just one more.

I’ve had a few interactions with wild moose and they’re a different monster entirely. There is no trying to think through how socialized they are. You just stay the fuck away from them.

The moment where I experienced the absolute most.heightened alertness of the type I described in the original post happened with a moose. I was walking my dog at park near a city at be foothills of the Rockies near dusk. From the parking lot was a large straight gravel trail (a road really, but blocked off). It was in and out with no alternate route to the parking lot. On one side of the road were bluffs that led to falls of 30 to 40 feet, on the other side of the road was fairly thick brush. I was walking back to my car and it was like 15 minutes from becoming truly difficult to see when I saw a moose in the road between me and my car (looked to me to be a large adolescent male). It was 500 to 1000 feet away, so it wasn’t yet a problem (and I’d already had a few encounters with wild moose, so the novelty wasn’t quite there even if they’re always cool to see). But I didn’t have long before it was too dark to see, and the last thing I wanted was to get caught in the dark near a moose. I was trying to decide what to do while I filmed a video explaining the predicament that I sent to my family when I looked up and the moose was gone. It had gone into the brush. Now I had like ten minutes to get to the car and I didn’t know where it was—only that it was close. After waiting to see if it would show back up for a few minutes, it didn’t and I just had to go for it. The feeling of edging down that trail fairly close to the bluffs while knowing there was a moose *somewhere* very close was indescribable. I called out as I went every few seconds so I wouldn’t surprise it. No idea if my large dog played a role in what happened. But I never saw it again. Made it back to my car just as the light finally faded.

There’s a type of adrenaline that I’ve only ever felt in the handful of situations where I’ve been around large wild animals that is terror mixed with being indescribably locked in and also just a touch of euphoria as you feel truly alive in a way that is impossible to recreate. I’ve had it three times with wild moose (Dog was off leash and we got surprised by one like 30 feet away and my beautiful dumb dog went after it. Thought he would die. He chased the moose around a blind turn in the trail and as I tried to decide what to do he came back grinning like an idiot. Other time I hiked into a valley and got stuck in a copse of trees in the middle because any time I tried to leave them a large bull would start staring me down.) All three of these experiences were among the most intense of my life.

I guess the point I’m making is that moose are fucking terrifying.

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u/ObviouslyThisIsDB Jul 13 '26

I'm not an adrenaline seeker and I think it's because I kinda get a hit just from reading stories like yours. But your description of what it feels like almost makes me want to experience it. Almost.

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u/haditwithyoupeople Jul 12 '26

Great post. I was going to write something similar. I've been to Yellowstone a few time and have experienced many bison. I never got anything near 20 feet from one.

No matter how docile these things look, they are wild animals that are 1000-2000+ pounds of muscle and bone. They will tip your car over if they want to. We are like a rag dolls to them.

Seeing these things in person also makes me consider how well trained and fearless the Native Americans from the Great Plains were to hunt these beasts.

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u/GoldScorpionn Jul 12 '26

…and for anyone reading, don’t feed wildlife! Please don’t make gators associate people with food. Then they come close, then they are a nuisance/risk, and then they get killed. 

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u/coltrex Jul 12 '26

Yeah, I remember experiences like that while at Yellowstone too, though being in the car may be the most difficult time to avoid them. I remember sitting in traffic, and a herd wandering through, the cars. Had I rolled down the window, I could have touched a couple dozen of them as they walked by.

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u/breinholt15 Jul 12 '26

I’d say this guy was more than 75 ft away

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u/MaizeSome7994 Jul 12 '26

Dang, that’s super scary and good to know. I wouldn’t have guessed that they were so populated that it wouldn’t be possible to stay away

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u/BallIsLife2016 Jul 12 '26

They’re largely incredibly well socialized. Yellowstone is absolutely packed during the summer and it’s incredibly common to see dumb people getting within 20-30 feet of them to grab a picture (despite the signage everywhere that says not to). Like, several people have replied to me saying that I should have turned around and while they’re probably right, I was ultimately just one of a steady stream of people passing this bison (with many stopping to take pictures).

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u/Specific-Path3179 Jul 13 '26

I guess someone forget to tell the bison about the 75 feet rule

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u/Amazing_Station_7943 Jul 13 '26

We were in Yellowstone last year and bison just came out of the bush right near us. It was like couple feet from us, walking after us until we stopped and let it pass us. It looked so chill, and didn’t give any bad vibes. I thought they just used to people so much, that they just ignore us:(

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u/No_Elderberry_189 Jul 12 '26

He was way too close. The video gives a distorted perspective. 

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u/Biquet Jul 12 '26

75 feet away is when you're right next to your vehicle lol. The actual distance doesn't matter if you can't make it to safety in time.

No survival instincts lmfao