A bull bison tossed a 9-year-old Florida girl into the air when the animal charged a group of about 50 tourists, after some of the tourists approached to within 5 to 10 feet (2 to 3 meters) of the animal over at least 20 minutes. The bison was eating when it suddenly attacked the young girl. The girl involuntarily performed a complete flip before crashing to the ground. She was taken to Old Faithful Lodge by her family for treatment by emergency personnel. She was later taken to a clinic and released. The extent of the girl’s injuries was not released in the statement.
The incident is under investigation.Yellowstone gets about 4 million visitors annually. It is the only area in the lower 48 states to have a “continuously free-ranging bison population since prehistoric times,” and herds are allowed to roam the park “relatively freely.” The National Park Service cautioned visitors that animals at Yellowstone National Parkare wild and to stay at least 25 yards from bison, elk, deer and moose no matter.
