A quiet after-dinner walk at Yellowstone National Park turned into a hospital stay this month, and the footage explains exactly why seasoned travelers are rethinking how close is actually too close when it comes to America’s most famous wildlife.
An Evening Stroll That Went Wrong in Seconds
Carl McDaniel, 65, was walking with his 13-year-old grandson near Bridge Bay Campground on a Friday evening in July. The pair had decided to take a walk after dinner during what was meant to be a yearly family trip to the park.
They spotted a bison from about a hundred yards away, rolling in the dust and seemingly unbothered by anyone nearby. Nothing about the moment suggested danger. Then everything changed.
McDaniel later said the animal did not seem aggressive at first. It simply picked him as a target. A professional photographer camping nearby, Mike MacLeod, described the bull as angry, agitated, and charging at anything in its path.
The Chase Through the Trees
The bison had already charged a passing truck before turning toward McDaniel and his grandson, who had taken cover among some trees. The grandson managed to escape. His grandfather did not.
The animal chased McDaniel around the trees as he tried to get away, eventually hooking him with its horn and launching him into the air. He landed in what witnesses described as a near perfect flip.
Video of the encounter shows the bison charging the visitor, chasing him back and forth through the trees, and ultimately striking him with its horns before flipping him over. Bison can run up to 35 miles an hour, faster than the fastest human sprinter alive, and stand up to six feet tall while weighing as much as 2,000 pounds.
What McDaniel remembers most is not the impact from the horns. He said hitting the ground afterward was the worst part of the entire ordeal, worse than being launched into the air in the first place.
Strangers Stepped In When No One Else Could
What happened next is the detail that has stuck with people who have watched the video. Several campers, including MacLeod, rushed toward the bison and yelled at it to drive it away from McDaniel before it could attack him again.
MacLeod later said he charged the animal himself, yelling and waving his camera in the air, and that a group of other men joined him until they successfully drove the bison off.
It did not end there. The same bull encountered another family at the campground moments later, and a nearby camper described sheltering with two others in what he called a woefully inadequate bunker with no second exit, unsure whether the animal could break through a concrete wall.
The Injuries, and the Recovery
McDaniel was hospitalized with a broken femur. A doctor at Bozeman Health confirmed he suffered fractures in multiple places and required surgery.
He later posted a brief update from his hospital bed, telling family and friends he was okay. The recovery is ongoing, and at his age, a broken femur is not a minor setback.
Park officials reviewed the incident and decided the bison would not be put down, since no management action was warranted. The animal remains in the park.
Why This Keeps Happening
This was not an isolated event, and that is precisely the point for anyone planning a park visit this year. Yellowstone records an average of a couple of bison attacks every year, and at least two visitors were attacked in the park in 2025 alone.
The National Park Service notes that more people have been injured by bison in Yellowstone than by any other animal in the park, and describes the species as unpredictable and prone to becoming aggressive when protecting its space.
The pattern across recent years is strikingly similar. A woman was gored and tossed ten feet into the air after approaching within ten feet of a bison near Old Faithful in 2022. A man was gored the same year after his family failed to move away when a bison charged them once already. A woman suffered significant injuries to her chest and abdomen after a bison charged her near Lake Lodge in 2023. An 83-year-old woman was lifted off the ground by a bison defending its space near Storm Point Trail in 2024.
Yellowstone repeatedly warns visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from bison, yet nearly every year at least one visitor ignores the warning and pays for it.
The Distance That Actually Matters
None of this means bison should be avoided from a distance that ruins the view. It means the 25 yard rule is not a suggestion, and a bison lying quietly in the dust a hundred yards away can close that gap faster than most people could ever react.
For anyone heading to Yellowstone or Grand Teton this summer, the lesson from Bridge Bay Campground is a simple one. A calm looking animal is not the same as a safe one, and no photograph is worth finding that out the hard way.
Amanda O’Brien is the creator and editor of The Boutique Adventurer. She has visited 80 countries and is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers as well as the IFTWTA. She is passionate about wine had has just completed Level 3 of the WSET. Born in Australia, she lives in London.