Yellowstone witness 'dumbfounded' as visitor charges straight at bison

A Yellowstone visitor said he saw a park-goer run straight at a herd of bison in May, and the sight left him "dumbfounded."

Cowboy State Daily said the witness was Les Vandever of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, who had stopped at Floating Island Lake in the park's northern section to look for bears when the incident unfolded.

What happened?

According to Vandever, the bison were already crossing the road when someone suddenly got out of a vehicle and ran toward them.

"A kid got out of the back passenger side of a vehicle and took off running towards the bison," he told the outlet. "I don't know if he was trying to spook them off or if he was just doing something stupid."

He later gave a Yellowstone ranger photos of the person's face and the vehicle's license plate, Vandever said. By that point, the bison had sped up to finish crossing, and the visitor had returned to the vehicle and driven away.

"We were sitting in our car, just dumbfounded," he said.

Yellowstone visitors are repeatedly warned to stay at least 25 yards away from bison and other large animals.

Why does it matter?

While bison may appear calm, they can sprint quickly, charge without warning, and cause catastrophic injuries.

Vandever emphasized that the animals in this case were not trapping traffic. 

"They weren't even blocking or standing in the road," he said. "Even if they do, you ease up towards them in your car, go slow and steady, and they will move. That's what the rangers want people to do."

These encounters put people at risk and can also endanger the animals. When wild animals injure humans — whether they were provoked or not — they may be euthanized afterward.

Yellowstone has already seen the consequences of human interference. In 2023, a bison calf was euthanized after a visitor moved it and the herd rejected it, the outlet noted.

Recent attacks also show how serious these encounters can become. Cowboy State Daily cited two men who were gored in separate Yellowstone incidents, as well as a 70-year-old woman who was killed by a bison in South Dakota's Custer State Park.

What are people saying?

Vandever said he hopes the visitor faces meaningful consequences.

"My opinion is that the kid needs to be banned from national parks and fined," he said.

Medical professionals have also seen the aftermath of these attacks firsthand.

"We see about two or three (bison attack victims) a year," Cody Regional Health's Dr. Kirk Bollinger told Cowboy State Daily in May 2025. "The big thing is the internal bleeding or massive bruising on the lungs when they stomp on you."

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