Woman gored in bison attack in Yellowstone National Park
Officials say a California woman was gored by a bull bison in Yellowstone National Park after a crowd of visitors got too close to the animal on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.
Kim Hancock was rushed to a hospital in Big Sky, Montana, with a hip injury, according to the Casper Star-Tribune. She was reportedly in stable condition.
Park officials say that Hancock, 59, was gored when a crowd came within 10 yards of the animal on a boardwalk at Found Paint Pot in the Lower Geyser Basin, KBZK-TV reports. Some of the visitors got even closer, agitating the bison and provoking it to cross the boardwalk and charge into Hancock.
It was the latest in a string of injuries caused by wildlife in Yellowstone.
Two women were injured by a female elk with her calf outside a Yellowstone hotel in separate incidents Sunday and Tuesday. In May, a woman stumbled across a bison as she came around a bend in a trail, according to CBS affiliate KTVQ-TV. The startled animal head-butted her off the path. Last year there were five bison attacks in the park.
The National Park Service (NPS) advises visitors should never be less than 25 yards from most wildlife. Predators like wolves and bears require greater caution and a minimum distance of 100 yards. The NPS rule of thumb is, "If you cause an animal to move, you're too close," noting that it is "illegal to willfully remain near or approach wildlife, including birds, within any distance that disturbs or displaces the animal."
