June 1 (UPI) — A 25-year-old woman was hospitalized with puncture wounds and other injuries after she was gored by a bison in Yellowstone National Park, officials said Tuesday.
The bison charged the Grove City, Ohio, resident Monday, and tossed her 10 feet in the air after she had approached the animal that was walking near the Black Sand Basin boardwalk she was on, the National Park Service said in a statement.
Park medical responders immediately attended to the unidentified woman who was then transported via ambulance to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for treatment, officials said. Her condition is unknown.
The park said it was the first reported incident of a bison goring a visitor this year.
“Bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal,” the park service said. “They are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans.”
Officials said wildlife in Yellowstone can be dangerous when approached, and that visitors to the park should stay more than 25 yards away from large animals, such as bison and deer, and 100 yards away from bears and wolves.
As of last summer, there were some 5,450 bison in Yellowstone, according to the park, with bulls weighing up to 2,000 pounds.
