YELLOWSTONE, WY (KDVR) It’s an alarming sight happening more and more often: tourists walking right up to adult bison and other large animals in Yellowstone National Park.
Rob and Jennifer Gunderson were visiting Yellowstone for their anniversary, and couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw people walking right up to a 1,000-pound bison.
“We’d been watching the tourists of Yellowstone for the past couple of years and thought, there’s just no way people do this in person. And sure enough, we were witnessing it as live as life could be,” Jennifer Gunderson said.
“Shocking. Honestly, it was shocking,” Jennifer Gunderson said. “I can understand if you want to go up and think you can get close to a bison, but to bring a small toddler?”
Thankfully, that family walked away unharmed, but that’s not always the case: On Tuesday, a tourist from New Jersey was gored by a bison after he and others got too close to the animal, a sad reminder of the very real dangers of getting too close to large wildlife.
The 30-year-old New Jersey man sustained minor injuries. He was treated and transported by emergency medical personnel.
Other recent incidents included a goring in May, during which a 47-year-old Florida man suffered minor injuries after approaching an animal, and two incidents last summer, when two people were reportedly injured by bison at the park. There was only one reported bison goring in 2023.
According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, bison can grow up to 1,000 pounds and 10 feet long.
“There are signs everywhere. But yet nobody pays attention to them,” Rob Gunderson said. “I get it as an adult. You’re thinking, ‘Oh, it won’t happen to me,’ but you’re going to do it with your kids and all that. That’s what really dumbfounded us on all of it.”
If you see a bison, wildlife officials say you should stay more than 25 yards from it. That same advice applies to all large animals, like elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes. When it comes to bears, wolves, and cougars, that distance should be at least 100 yards.
