A frightened child was filmed running from a bison at Yellowstone National Park after a family was seen walking dangerously close to the massive animal in alarming footage.
Brittany Peteler recorded the video, which shows a family, including two young children, moving along a path just steps away from the enormous bison.
The bison could be seen flicking its tail as another woman walked ahead, shortly before the family tried to pass the animal at close range.
Peteler and other bystanders watched anxiously as the group kept moving forward, with one person heard pleading: ‘Please, please, please. Children, children.’
Another onlooker could be heard saying under their breath: ‘No, you’re way too close. Dude what are you doing?’
As the family neared the bison, an adult and two children appeared to hesitate. Seconds later, the animal abruptly turned and charged toward them.
The child at the front of the group immediately took off running as the agitated bison followed for several steps before easing back into a walk.
Behind the child, the rest of the family froze as the bison slowly continued moving in the same direction.
The group were seen tentatively continuing to walk along the path before those videoing yelled at them to turn around.
‘Go back! Do not go towards him. Go back,’ they screamed. ‘Go away from him. Move away from him!’
Brittany Peteler captured video of a family, including two young children, walking along a path dangerously close to a huge bison, which was seen agitated while standing near the walkway
Brittany Peteler, who was videoing the scene, and other onlookers watched in shock, as one was heard saying: ‘No, you’re way too close. Dude what are you doing?’
As they approached the bison, an adult and two children appeared to slow before the animal suddenly turned and lunged toward them and the child sprinted away from the beast
The incident comes just weeks after a man was seen being launched into the air by a bison in the same Wyoming national park.
While walking with his grandson, Carl McDaniel, 65, of Washington State was seen in footage sprinting from a bison who charged at him after they stopped to photograph the massive animal.
As he attempted to escape, the grandfather was thrown around eight feet into the air.
‘The bison was pumping his legs and pumping his head and exhibiting very aggressive behavior,’ photographer Mike MacLeod told ABC News.
MacLeod said he tried to distract the animal by yelling and jumping up and down before he rushed over to help McDaniel.
‘He was in a lot of pain and he was trying to not move his leg, but his immediate concern as for his grandson,’ the photographer continued.
According to the outlet, McDaniel’s grandson was unharmed during the incident and his grandfather underwent surgery but is expected to recover.
He broke his femur – the strongest bone in the body – in four places near his hip in the assault.
‘We saw the bison, and he was down. He wasn’t showing aggression or anything like that,’ he said. ‘They move faster than you could ever imagine. It picked a target. That target happened to be me.’
Carl McDaniel, 65, spoke out from his hospital bed at Bozeman Health after being attacked by a bison, which left him with a broken femur
‘He just kept coming, and he was more aggressive, and as soon as he got off that tree he launched me in the air,’ McDaniel continued.
He added that he is grateful to have survived the attack and believed his injuries could have been worse.
‘Even though I was on the ground, he could’ve stomped me, he could’ve gored me, he could’ve done anything,’ the great-grandfather said.
It remains unclear what may have provoked the beast to attack McDaniel, but it came amid bison mating season when the males of the species have increased testosterone levels.
Following the injury of a 12-year-old park visitor in June, park officials said that bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal.
‘They are unpredictable, can run three times faster than humans and will defend their space when threatened,’ the release stated.
Officials added that visitors should maintain a distance of at least 25 yards from all large animals, including bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose and coyotes, and around 100 yards from bears, wolves and cougars.
The Daily Mail reached out to Yellowstone National Park for comment.
