guy that shot video seems a credible witness - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/12/yellowstone-bull-bison-throws-tourist-in-air

Which was already agitated.

Not terribly smart, although not as stupid as many tourons (local terminology for tourists whose actions contribute to or cause their injuries)

look in foreground of pix, splayed out food and fixings on a picnic table

BUT, if you read the story from the Guardian it says the bison was rolling in the dust at the time the hikers returned to the area - they didn't know it was agitated. I just can't call this one human stupidity if the story is accurate. yes there is a risk anywhere in nature (or the city for that matter) but the situation here wasn't one of those dumbfuck gets out of a car to pet the cool animal things. it was basically a big accident that can happen sometimes. risk of animals acclimated to campgrounds or risk of campgrounds in animals' territory.

my guess is he was a young bull that just got his proverbial ass kicked and was hiding from the winner, on the fight to take out his loss on some other critter.

(I'm in the middle of a 600 mile trip and about to get back in the car). But I read I it and I'm pretty sure it said it was agitated by the time they got their cameras out to take pictures, and that the agitation is at least party is what they were trying to capture.

when they got back from hike it was laying down/rolling in dust (which can also be agitation, I give you that - but they didn't know as far as what I read) and they probably thought it was just rolling for pleasure.

Look, it doesn't matter where you are, the bison has the right-of-way. The tourist looked way too close. I hope the guy is ok. He looks older.

and recreate with some caution but also with reasonable expectation that it is relatively safe to do so. the article I read and posted said the distances were normally adequate and that this was more or less a freak accident. I am arguing that it was not as predictable as all you experts are claiming it was. sure there is always a danger, but when you go to a designated "human" area in a park and follow all the other signs and rules and something bad happens anyway it isn't really your fault, it is just a fucking accident that can happen in life. the guy wasn't taking extraordinary risks like some of these bison-tossing-idiots videos often show.

I guess we should all stay alert and on the lookout while in Yellowstone.

I'm not an outdoorsy person and have never really enjoyed camping. I do understand the appeal, though.

Doubt that the buffalo knew that or really cared about a fine point like that, they are in his home

but yes, that is a popular perspective. until it happens to the viewer.

I don't know if you have ever been to Yellowstone but there are sigs all over the place telling you not to do what he was doing because Buffalo are way faster than they appear and are very unpredictable

eye witness says he was good (park-recommended) distance away

The old dude seemed to be giving the Bison a wide berth. It appears old dude even started to move on when the bison started its display. It was the pickup truck that triggered the attack.

Bad timing for the old dude.

A car, never should be! Yep, that big dog coming for you and you done.
More tourist idiots getting what comes.

they were hiking and in a designated campground. witness mentions they were within park guidelines of distances from animal. the bull had been rampaging through the campground and went at a truck. the two men were returning from a hike and started to take pix from a distance when the bull jumped up and went after them.

This goes for any mamal, and fowl. Turkey will attack if they're mating, or protecting little ones. I have them here

That camping area shouldn't have been open, if Park knew was a bison area. And you know they knew.

but I am a rural person. there are a lot of folks that think nature is a paved trail through a disney movie. this guy wasn't really at fault in this case. campground should be closed or secured for safety with fencing. though I doubt bears care about much fencing or cattle guards. but it would probably work for bison

Bison? No fence would work, not even sure how high electricity would have to be turned up?

No one should have been allowed in that area. Plus, due diligence when you camp and hike. Be aware! Know if there are bison, cougar, bear in the area you're planning to visit. Never go into the wilderness uneducated.

I hope the guy's okay. I really, really hope the bison wasn't destroyed because of this incident. Because most of the time, the animals are destroyed, especially when stories like this go viral. 😢

yes they can destroy it when they have reasons to but in general it can work. I mean same for any livestock - if it is a high pressure situation you need stronger structure, wire usually works otherwise - same if there is some attractant involved (thinking more of bears on that)

Bison are heavy contained, cattle, once you head east, is a lot of open range. Cattle guards, but many car accidents hitting cattle... Wondering if bison hate cattle guards, also? Plus, we have the mule deer out ther that will put a serious hurt on you.

And the turkeys right here outside my backyard, are knocking folks off their bikes! Actually, all my local birds are acting off this season. Especially my acorn woodpeckers and my ravens. Just not right, I'm very worried.

nest. Ravens know how to move a nest, stick by stick and are the best of recycling I've ever seen. They moved it to lower branches in the big oak, when the branches higher started dying, too hot. The acorn woodpeckers have also moved their colony out of that oak. Acorn colony will only thrive when 3 different oaks are in their vicinity. Blue Jays working too.
It's all just way off. I'm going through massive amount of peanuts. Usually this time a year, my woodies are just 2 at time, teasing jays. Not this year. I have 4-5 woodpeckers desperate for peanuts and no games.

Starlings aren't here... We're in drought, but everything is just outta whack. You know what I mean?

I disagree with your conclusions. Clearly they underestimated the danger. "Oh look, a bison. Let's stop and take some pictures!" No. They were too close. How do we know? Because of the result.

by fact of the accident happening to them? somebody gets run over walking down the sidewalk was in the wrong because they got run over?

No.

(in other words, over-emotional male animals LOL)

Feel sorry for the gentleman. Didn't seem like he was doing anything wrong. Very scary.

a herd walked down the road we were on and some bulls were bigger than the car we were in.

Stop fn around with wild creatures to get a selfie. Our wildlife are not your toys for shit posts!

the headlights came on.

Sorry

In all seriousness, I hope the gentleman is okay, and unlike with other videos of this nature he did not appear to be encroaching on the animal.

Stay in your car!

They probably even have that on signs. I guess he thought it was a joke?

There was a group of bison and a fence that someone could easily get over. And there was a warning sign saying do not approach the Bison.

For some people, signs are enough. For others, not so much.

"Fuck with the bull, you get the horn".

I have seen vids of some women walking within a few feet to take a selfie.

This one shows there is no 'safe' distance.

When I was about 7 I was with my cousin in one of their cattle fields. The bull came after us and I was able to dive under a barbed wire fence. Never had any desire to 'run with the bulls' in the sixty years since.

for Rodeo clown.

I went walking on a hiking trail in the evening and saw one maybe 100 feet in front of me, I made U turn and went back to lodge. I saw a Chinese tourist walk up to a bull rolling in the dust and take a selfie, they think it is a petting zoo.

I got cornered by a 250 pound black bear deep in the Rocky Mountain NP back country a few years back while camping with 2 friends. We did all the food protocol but one of the dumb dumbs I was with left a half eaten king size package of Reese’s in his tent and inconveniently I was the one to encounter the bear while they were 8 minutes down the trail fetching water. If I hadn’t just relieved myself an hour earlier I probably would have peed my pants. I was always cautious before but it really reinforced the concept that wild animals of that size don’t have to work too hard to kill.

But they staid in the fence and fed on the pasture like cattle.

that the Bison could be hear uttering "I'm just here for the Bisontenial" just before he flipped the old man.

....sorry, BAD Dad joke!

Last edited Sun Jul 12, 2026, 11:16 PM - Edit history (1)

Seeking ways to apply DOGE methods to space launch budgets.....

Good to hear the 'ole boy is OK. He's damned lucky to be alive.

Once when I was visiting my brother who raises beef cattle, one of his bulls had gotten out and was going down the gravel road.. I jumped in my SUV and said, "Come on, let's go get him." My brother looked at me like I was crazy, and said, that bull would demolish my SUV if he wanted. We ended up going anyway, and I kept far enough back that the bull didn't feel threatened, so he galloped on home....

The cars in this video would have met a similar fate as my SUV potentially would have....

hope the guy is ok

This was a freak accident. The man and his grandson had just returned from hiking on the trail. They were about well beyond the minimum recomended distance that the Park advises for bison. The man and his grandson didn't know that rolling in the dust was a sign that the animal was agitated.
If you watch the video carefully, you see the bull go after the pickup truck first, then he charges across the road. The grandfather pushes his grandson out of the way, and follows by dodging around the tree. The bull rakes a small tree, then begins chasing the older man. It's terrifying to watch and my heart goes out to the man and his grandson.
The Facebook post that I read said that Park personnel stated that the unusually hot temperatures seems to have brought the bison mating season on early.
I'm guessing that this incident is another tragedy brought on by climate change. Perhaps the Park staff will reevaluate which campgrounds need to be temporarily closed due to the dangers of more accidents like this one. I know there will be criticism and anger, partly because people plan vacations in advance, and during the popular visiting times you have to make reservations. But, we humans tend to forget that part of the function of our National Parks is to help wild creatures survive and have a place to live. And, the Parks have to limit their liability and protect the safety of visitors as well.
I really hope the grandfather recovers, and I hope that his grandson receives comforting.

Still I’m not getting that close

The news articles that I read said the grandfather had a broken femur and some other injuries, but didn't mention a broken pelvis.
I just hope that he recovers and that there aren't anymore incidents like this one. The photographer who took the video is quoted as saying that he saw several far more dangerous situations of people being too close to bison as he was driving out of the park.
I think Kali is correct: the bull got his ass kicked by another bull, and he was pissed off and looking for an outlet. The bull raked his horns quite violently through a small evergreen tree and then proceeded to chase and attack the grandfather and his grandson. It must have been terrifying to be chased by an animal the size of a small bulldozer that can move as fast as that bull did.