Do NOT Pet the Bison at Yellowstone National Park

We mention this a lot - Yellowstone National Park is amazing and it is also dangerous.

A visit to the park can be a memorable experience that will last your entire lifetime. Those memories can be ones of joy and beautiful sights or memories of making bad decisions. Some visitors to the park actively or intentionally break the rules and ignore safety signs, we call them the Tourons. Others find themselves in dangerous situations only due to the fact that they are outdoors and there are wild animals everywhere.

83 Year Old Lady Gored by a Bison in Yellowstone

There was a story in the news a few weeks ago about a drunk guy who was caught making bad life choices at Yellowstone when he was seen picking a fight with a bison and allegedly kicked it. I’ll admit I watched the video with a little hope that the bison would charge him and rip his pants or toss him a few feet. But the guy got lucky.

An elderly woman didn’t get so lucky and was gored by a bison on June 1st. The 83-year-old woman from South Carolina was near the Storm Point Trail on the north side of Yellowstone Lake when the bison attacked. None of the reports say if the woman approached the bison or if she was just as surprised by it as it was by her.

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Not all encounters with wildlife at Yellowstone are intentional. When possible, visitors should stay at least 25 yards away from big animals like bison and moose and 100 yards minimum from predators like bears and wolves.

RELATED STORY: One Of The Main Roads To Yellowstone Is Closed Due To A Landslide

Dangerous encounters with bison are far too common. There are dozens of videos on social media dedicated to compilations of the encounters and to serve as reminders that bison do not want a hug from you.