A man was seriously injured on Friday when a charging bull threw him nearly eight feet in the air in Yellowstone National Park, according to witnesses who filmed the attack.The incident occurred at Bridge Bay Campground while the victim and his grandson were taking an evening walk. Photographer Mike MacLeod, who was camping nearby, said the pair kept a considerable distance from the animal before it suddenly attacked.A video circulating on social media also showed the bison running around before eventually targeting the man and throwing him into the air.McLeod said the bull had moved violently through the campground, forcing several visitors to scatter before it eventually targeted two pedestrians. “They were walking down the road and quite far away from the bison, and the bison started running towards them,” he said, according to local news outlet Cowboy State Daily.The grandson escaped unscathed, but the old man was chased around a group of trees before being grabbed by the animal.According to McLeod, the bison hit the man with one of its horns, throwing him into the air and slamming him on his side.Witnesses said the animal then remained close to the injured man, raising concerns it could attack again. “I was really worried that he was going to gore the guy on the ground with his horns,” McLeod said, adding that he and several onlookers shouted as they charged at the bison and eventually drove it away.Emergency personnel arrived shortly after and took the injured man to hospital for treatment. While there were no obvious external wounds, the victim complained of severe pain in his buttocks and legs, McLeod said. Later, the man’s grandson told him his grandfather had suffered “pretty serious injuries” and was still in serious condition.McLeod said the attack was notable because, unlike many of the wildlife encountered in Yellowstone, the visitors acted responsibly. “I didn’t see anyone approaching,” he said. “People…kept their distance. They were very respectful.”He described the bull as unusually aggressive, saying it charged at multiple people and even a passing pickup truck before attacking its victims.The attack occurred during Yellowstone’s annual bison mating season, known as the rut, which lasts from June to September. During this time, male bison become more territorial and aggressive as they compete for mates.This is the second bison attack involving tourists in Yellowstone this year. In June, a 12-year-old child was injured in a separate confrontation near the park’s mud volcano area.
