A 65-year-old grandfather's terrifying encounter with a bull bison at Yellowstone National Park has left him with a severely broken leg. Carl McDaniel was tossed 8ft into the air during an after-dinner walk with his 13-year-old grandson, near the Bridge Bay campsite, on a Friday evening.
Mr McDaniel had initially spotted the 900kg bison around 100 yards away and taken some photographs. However, it unexpectedly charged, forcing him to make a desperate decision to divert the animal from his grandson, instructing the teenager to run in one direction while he went in another.
The powerful bison caught Mr McDaniel, flipping him into the air with its head. Footage of the attack, captured by nearby photographer Mike MacLeod, has been widely viewed online. Remarkably, despite being immobilised on the ground with the bison directly over him, Mr McDaniel believes the animal deliberately chose not to inflict more fatal injuries.
A group of campers, including Mr MacLeod, quickly intervened after the attack, shouting and clapping to scare the bison away. Emergency services responded swiftly, transporting Mr McDaniel to a local hospital before he was moved to a facility in Bozeman, Montana, a two-hour ambulance journey that he described as intensely painful.
The US National Park Service (NPS) has not confirmed if the bison's aggression was linked to the ongoing rutting season, which typically runs from June to September. During this period, male bison can become more unpredictable and territorial. Mr MacLeod noted that at the time of the incident, Mr McDaniel and his grandson were at a respectful distance from the bison.