Wyoming: Bison Attacks and Tosses Ohio Woman Into the Air at Yellowstone National Park

A bison attacked and injured an Ohio woman at the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming during the Memorial Day on Monday, May 30.

While the wild animal attack itself is not surprising, the specific trigger remains uncertain.

However, park officials reportedly claimed that the woman walked too close to the bison, near enough to catch the attention of the animal, which has been known to be potentially dangerous with or without warning when approached by anyone.

Bison Attack

During the attack, the two-horned mammal pierced and threw the 25-year-old woman from Grove City, Ohio, into the air at about 10 feet (3 meters), according to reports on Wednesday, June 1.

The incident occurred when the woman approached the bison while it was heading toward a platform in the Black Sand Basin area of the park.

The site is known for its cluster of geothermal hot springs situated in Northwest Wyoming.

Park officials exclaimed, during an official statement, that wildlife at the Yellow National Park can be dangerous or life-threatening when approached, as cited by Reuters.

The Ohio woman sustained puncture wounds and other injuries to her body.

Local authorities transferred her to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The hospital is located around 130 miles (210 kilometers) southwest of the Black Sand Basin.

There are approximately more than 5,000 bison across the Yellowstone National Park, which has a total land area of almost 9,000 square kilometers mostly covering Wyoming and extends into Idaho and Montana.

The bison attack during the Memorial Day weekend is reportedly the first in 2022.

Over recent years, related wild bison attacks have been reported at the Yellowstone National Park, which paved the way for the reinforcement of warnings for visitors viewing wildlife in the park.

This came after a bison attacked a young girl at the same park in 2019, according to local news KHQ.

American Bison

In North America, the said animal's population found in the sub-continent are called "bison" or "buffalo" with the former used formally and the latter informally.

However, both refer to the American bison under the scientific name Bison bison, according to the National Park Service (NPS).

The NPS estimates around 30 to 60 million bison roamed North America before 1850s with majority lived on the Great Plains.

The American bison population decreased due to hunting which almost led to the species' extinction.

In current times, the US agency states about 30,000 bison still live in both private and public herds across North America.

Meanwhile, the NPS added that approximately 400,000 bison are being raised as livestock, highlighting that a Yellowstone bison is the most best example of wild plain bison and efforts to preserve them.

Despite of the decreased population, bison are not considered as a threatened or endangered species.

Bison are herbivore animals with a lifespan of 12 to 20 years and they can weigh up to 930 to 2,000 pounds, making them the heaviest animal in North America and a symbolic animal of the Great Plains, according to the National Geographic.