A Montana-based photographer filmed a man being thrown in the air by a bison at Yellowstone National Park late last week. Now, photographer Mike MacLeod says the video ultimately helped doctors treat the man and bring him peace of mind about the events leading up to the encounter.
”Last night, my wife and I spent two hours with Carl, the fella who got thrown in the air, and together we kind of put the pieces of the puzzle together to iron out some things,” MacLeod said in an interview.
Yellowstone officials confirmed that a 65-year-old man was injured by a bison on July 10 at Bridge Bay Campground near Yellowstone Lake. After being charged by the agitated animal, video shows how Washington resident Carl McDaniel was able to evade the bison by weaving through nearby trees before being hit and thrown into the air.
While MacLeod said that McDaniel followed the safety recommendations of park officials and handled the situation well, the incident highlights the need for park visitors to exercise caution around wildlife.
“The animals in Yellowstone are wild and dangerous, no matter how docile they may appear to be,” a safety statement by the park details. “If an animal moves closer to you, back away to maintain a safe distance. It's illegal to willfully remain near or approach wildlife.”
MacLeod said that while photographing the park for about 35 years, he’s seen crowds congregate close to wildlife all too often.
“ You see other people doing it and you think, ‘Oh, well, it must be safe, right?’” MacLeod said about visitors who approach wildlife. “And so you're kind of subordinating your decision-making to other people who may not know better.”
During the encounter, McDaniel was reportedly well beyond the recommended distance to view wildlife provided by the parks service. Yellowstone National Park recommends visitors maintain a distance of at least 25 yards when viewing bison. McDaniel and his 13-year-old grandson were about 120 yards away from the animal, according to MacLeod.
That evening, the bison originally charged a group of young men before seemingly settling down, according to MacLeod. He said this initial incident appeared to be unprovoked.
Shortly after the animal returned to a less agitated state, MacLeod said a white concessionaire truck rolled through the campground. Following his conversation with McDaniel, MacLeod said that he believes that the dust kicked up from the truck may have disturbed the bison yet again.
That was when the bison redirected its attention toward McDaniel. After directing his grandson to run along a ditch away from the animal, McDaniel ran in the opposite direction, near a patch of trees.
The video of the encounter shows McDaniel avoided the charging bison by dodging through the trees several times before the animal caught up to him.
“Talking to Carl … he said getting hit by that bison was pretty interesting, because it wasn't the horn that made contact. It was just [the] nose, and he described it as like getting hit or launched in the air by a soft mattress,” MacLeod recounted following talking to McDaniel in the hospital.
MacLeod said that McDaniel, who reportedly sustained four breaks in his femur from the encounter, was joking with other campers shortly after the incident while waiting for paramedics to arrive. McDaniel’s first question to other campers, who were able to scare off the bison, was whether his grandson was safe.
”He started joking about the whole thing. And I understand that after EMS came, he was joking with the EMS folks for [the] two and a half hour bumpy, horribly painful ride out of the park to Bozeman to the hospital,” MacLeod said.
Doctors used MacLeod’s video of the incident to review how McDaniel landed to aid in evaluating potential injuries. The video, which McDaniel’s grandson asked MacLeod to share with the family, also served another purpose.
“We sent the video, and [Carl] said he was so relieved to know that his memory matched what actually happened, because he was trying to do the right thing and it was very important to him,” MacLeod said.
MacLeod said that members of McDaniels family have flown to the hospital to be with him during recovery.
“You can see he's got such a rich life and has such purpose in his life that this is really not gonna matter so much with him,” MacLeod said of McDaniel’s outlook on recovery.
The National Park Service warns that bison activity often increases in the park in July and August due to mating season.
