A 30-year-old Michigan woman suffered “significant” injuries Sunday during a violent encounter with a bison while on a mid-afternoon hike in Yellowstone National Park.
Linda Veress, a public information specialist with Yellowstone, told the Billings Gazette that the woman was airlifted to an Idaho Falls hospital for treatment.
“We’re not clear how the encounter with the bison occurred,” Veress told the outlet via email, noting that the woman had been hiking with a companion near Storm Point Trail.
No other details regarding the attack were immediately available.
Park regulations require visitors to remain at least 25 yards from bison, elk, moose, bighorn sheep, deer and coyotes, and at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves, the Jackson Hole Daily reported.
“If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal in close proximity,” Veress told the outlet in an email.
According to the Jackson Hole Daily, Yellowstone typically records one or two bison gorings per year, but five park visitors were injured by bison by mid-July in 2015.
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report that stated since 1980 “bison have injured more pedestrian visitors to Yellowstone National Park than any other animal,” and 33 bison-related injuries were documented in the park between 1983 and 1985, the Billings Gazette reported.
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