An Australian tourist, 62, survived being tossed in the air three times by a bison while he was visiting Yellowstone national park, US park authorities have said.
It is the second time in three weeks a bison has seriously injured a tourist in Yellowstone.
Park officials said the man’s injuries were not life-threatening despite being thrown about repeatedly by the animal. The man, whom authorities did not name, was flown by helicopter for medical treatment.
Yellowstone officials said several people crowded the bison as it lay near a path not far from the famous Old Faithful geyser on Tuesday morning. The bison charged as the man took photos from a few feet away.
Bison can weigh as much as a full-size sedan and run three times faster than a person.
A bison in the Old Faithful area gored a 16-year-old girl from Taiwan as she posed for a picture near the animal on 16 May. The park service said in a statement: “The girl turned her back to the bison to have her picture taken when the bison lifted its head, took a couple of steps and gored her.”
The exchange student, who was staying with a US family, was airlifted to hospital for treatment.
Yellowstone is home to wild animals including bears, elk, deer, moose, coyotes and wolves, a park official said. “Visitors are reminded that Yellowstone wildlife is wild … and should not be approached, no matter how tame or calm they appear.”
Bison in particular were fast, “unpredictable and dangerous”, the official said.
Many believe grizzly bears and wolves are Yellowstone’s most dangerous animals but bison and elk attacked a couple of people in the park every year and were responsible for more injuries, said Yellowstone spokeswoman Amy Bartlett.
In the case of the Australian man, he wasn’t the only person to blame, Bartlett said. Other people had crowded around the bison and it was “already getting agitated” before he got out his camera.
The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
