(NEW YORK) — A 25-year-old woman was gored by a bison in Yellowstone National Park on Monday morning, officials said.
A bison was walking near a boardwalk at Black Sand Basin, just north of the Old Faithful geyser, when a tourist approached it, coming within 10 feet. The wild animal then gored the woman and tossed her 10 feet into the air, according to a press release from the National Park Service.
The unnamed woman, who was visiting from Grove City, Ohio, sustained a puncture wound among other injuries, the agency said. She was transported via ambulance to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.
“The incident remains under investigation, and there is no additional information to share,” the National Park Service said in the press release Tuesday. “Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are wild and can be dangerous when approached.”
Two other individuals were also within 25 yards of the same bison at the time of the incident. Park regulations require visitors to stay more than 25 yards away from bison, which have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal, according to the National Park Service.
It was the first reported incident in 2022 of a visitor being gored by a bison after getting too close. Bison “are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans,” the agency said.
When a large animal such as a bison is near a campsite, trail, boardwalk, parking lot or in a developed area, the National Park Service advises people to “give it space.”
“If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal in close proximity,” the agency added.
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