A 9-year-old girl was “charged and tossed into the air” by a bison in Yellowstone National Park, but miraculously wasn’t seriously hurt.
Park officials said the attack happened on the afternoon of July 22 near Observation Point Trail in the Old Faithful Geyser area.
“According to witnesses, a group of approximately 50 people were within 5-10 feet of the bison for at least 20 minutes before eventually causing the bison to charge the group,” the park said in a statement Tuesday.
The girl, from Odessa, Florida, was “charged and tossed in the air by a bull bison,” the park said.
She was taken to Old Faithful Lodge by her family where she was assessed by park emergency medical providers, and later taken to and released from the Old Faithful Clinic.
The incident was caught on video by Hailey Dayton and posted on social media.
“This is what happens when you fuck with wildlife and pay no mind to an animals personal space,” Dayton posted on Twitter. “This family was petting the buffalo before it charged. And as you can see the parents saved themselves over their daughter. I’m disgusted.”
The encounter is truly disturbing.
A 9-year-old girl was injured after a bison charged her in Yellowstone National Park on Monday. Park officials warn visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from all large animals. Yellowstone is home to over 4,500 bison, according to the latest estimates. https://t.co/FSK1pln0RZ pic.twitter.com/Gdw2CxpPkg
— CNN (@CNN) July 24, 2019
Dayton later deleted her tweet with the original video.
She posted instead:
“Due to the abundance of cruel and inconsiderate comments that this young girl would most likely see, I am deleting the video of the Bison. This was meant to show awareness of what can happen when not properly respecting the life you are around. This behavior is unsat,” she wrote.
Due to the abundance of cruel and inconsiderate comments that this young girl would most likely see, I am deleting the video of the Bison. This was meant to show awareness of what can happen when not properly respecting the life you are around. This behavior is unsat.
— hails (@haileyydayton) July 24, 2019
But the video is being so widely circulated — including back to her own timeline — it no longer matters what Dayton does.
— Dezy (@Dezify) July 24, 2019
The park, which gets 4 million visitors a year, said the attack is still under investigation.
So far, no citations have been issued, it added.
Nine-year-old girl injured by bison: https://t.co/HEJIPlwICv pic.twitter.com/YXTrBEpQcP
— YellowstoneNPS (@YellowstoneNPS) July 23, 2019
Yellowstone is now reminding people that animals there are wild.
“When an animal is near a trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, give it space,” the parks says.
Stay 23 metres — or 25 yards — away from large animals such as bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes.
And keep 91 metres — or at least 100 yards — way from bears and wolves.
Photo Hailey Dayton/Twitter
