Tourist-tossing bison in US national park won’t be euthanised, injured grandpa recovering well

A Yellowstone National Park bison that tossed a 65-year-old tourist about 2.4m into the air during a frightening encounter last week will not be euthanised, park officials have said.

Park officials said no management action will be taken against the bull bison after the July 10 incident at the Bridge Bay Campground near Yellowstone Lake.

The tourist, Carl Isom-McDaniel of Kendall, Washington, was visiting the campground with his 13-year-old grandson when the animal suddenly charged. A photographer nearby captured the encounter on video, which quickly spread online.

Isom-McDaniel suffered a broken femur near his hip and underwent surgery on July 12. By the following day, he was already standing and recovering well.

“Thank you everyone. I am okay,” Isom-McDaniel wrote on Facebook after his operation.

He also expressed gratitude that the encounter ended no worse than it did.

“When I was on the ground, unable to move, he was right on top of me,” he told CNN. “He could have stomped on me. He could have gored me... and he did not.”

Mike MacLeod, the photographer who recorded the incident, said Isom-McDaniel remained in good spirits despite his injuries.

“He was in a lot of pain, but he was conscious and joking the whole time,” MacLeod told Wyoming news outlet Cowboy State Daily. “His biggest concern was that people would think he had done something to provoke the bison.”

MacLeod said the video of the incident shows otherwise.

“It’s not his fault,” he said. “From the beginning, it was a really angry bison.”

He said neither Isom-McDaniel nor his grandson appears to have provoked the animal.

The bison – reportedly weighing 900kg – was most likely experiencing a surge of testosterone as mating season is just beginning, according to park officials.

Viral footage of the incident shows Isom-McDaniel and his grandson – standing a good distance away – snapping a picture of the bison as it lies on the grass, before the massive animal jumps to its feet and chases after them.

“There was little time to decide what to do,” Isom-McDaniel recalled. “At that point, he was within 100 yards. He could be (on) to us in seconds, so I told my grandson to run in one direction, and I went the other to try and draw him away.”

The boy was able to flee, but the bison caught up with Isom-McDaniel, hooking him near the hip with its left horn before flipping him.