A tourist’s nasty injuries have been revealed after he was thrown into the air by a rampaging bison.
Washington resident Carl Isom-McDaniel was filmed being launched about 8 feet into the air by a bull bison at Yellowstone National Park on Friday evening.
McDaniel, who is in his mid-60s, suffered several broken bones after the agitated animal charged at him and his grandson before chasing McDaniel around some trees and launching him into the air, The New York Times reported.
Mike MacLeod, a professional photographer who recorded the shocking attack at the Bridge Bay Campground, previously said he had been in touch with McDaniel’s grandson, who told him his grandfather had “some pretty significant injuries and is not out of the woods yet.”
“He was really worried and wanted to see the video to make sure that it wasn’t his fault,” MacLeod told the Cowboy State Daily. “You can tell in the video it’s not his fault. You can tell from the very beginning.”
MacLeod said he started recording the bison after it stormed into the campground where he was staying.
Everyone, including McDaniel and his grandson, kept their distance from the bison, which are known for extremely aggressive behavior, especially during mating season.
The viral footage begins with the bison nestling into some dirt, with McDaniel and his grandson visible in the background.
The bison then appeared to become agitated when a white pickup truck drove by. While it initially seemed to be charging toward the truck, it suddenly changed direction and ran toward McDaniel and his grandson, who were by that point behind some trees.
After McDaniel desperately ran in circles through the wooded area to avoid the rampaging bison, the animal eventually caught up with him and flipped him high into the air with its horns.
“I knew he was in danger because the bison didn’t leave,” MacLeod, a former combat photographer who also has a degree in wildlife biology, told The New York Times. “He stood right over Carl, and he was really, really angry. His head’s pumping up and down, and he displayed all that aggressive behavior.”
“I put my camera down, and I ran at the bison, pumping my arms up and down, yelling at the top of my lungs and jumping up, trying to look big and distract it.”
MacLeod added that although it was clear McDaniel was in a great deal of pain because of his leg injuries, he remained conscious and was “in good spirits, joking” while awaiting an ambulance.
