BOZEMAN, Mont., July 26 (Bozeman Times) — A Yellowstone National Park visitor recovering in Bozeman is putting a human face on a simple rule park officials repeat for bison: keep your distance.
In a video recorded from a Bozeman Health hospital bed, Carl Isom-McDaniel described the July 10 encounter near Bridge Bay Campground by Yellowstone Lake. He said the animal appeared calm at first, then singled him out. “They move faster than you could ever imagine,” he said.
What happened in Yellowstone?
The National Park Service said park emergency medical personnel responded after a bison charged and tossed Isom-McDaniel at Bridge Bay Campground in Yellowstone National Park. The agency said he was taken to a nearby hospital.
Isom-McDaniel said he was with his grandson when the attack happened. In his account, the bison chased him around a tree and launched him into the air. “It picked a target. That target happened to be me,” he said.
How badly was he hurt?
Isom-McDaniel said the landing caused the worst of the damage. A doctor quoted in the Bozeman Health video said the injury was broken in multiple pieces. Other reports said he suffered multiple fractures, including a broken femur.
He underwent surgery and continued recovering at the Montana hospital.
Why do Yellowstone officials warn people about bison?
The National Park Service says visitors should stay at least 25 yards from bison and never approach them. That guidance is meant to protect both people and wildlife.
Bison may look slow or calm from a distance, but they are wild animals and can move quickly when they feel threatened or when people get too close.
Why this matters in Bozeman and across the region
The case has resonated in Montana because the injured visitor was treated in Bozeman, while the attack itself happened in Yellowstone, one of the state’s best-known federal parks.
For Isom-McDaniel, the warning is now personal. From his hospital bed, he said the most surprising part of the attack was how fast the animal moved. “They move faster than you could ever imagine,” he said.
