A photographer said the animal charged through Bridge Bay Campground before flipping a man who was walking with his grandson.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — A bull bison seriously injured a visitor Friday evening after chasing him near trees and tossing him about 8 feet into the air at Bridge Bay Campground, according to a photographer who witnessed and recorded the encounter.
Mike MacLeod, a professional photographer from Bozeman, Montana, said the man had been walking along a campground road with his grandson when the bison ran toward them. MacLeod said the grandson escaped, but the animal caught the older man with a horn near his hip and flipped him before he landed on his side. The National Park Service had not released an official account of the incident or information about the visitor’s condition as of Monday.
MacLeod said he was camping at Bridge Bay, south of Fishing Bridge, when his wife noticed the bull entering the campground. He picked up his camera and began photographing it from a distance. The bison moved through the camping area and charged toward a group of young people who were taking cellphone pictures, he said. They scattered and were not injured.
MacLeod, who said he previously worked as a combat photographer in the Army, began recording as campers called out warnings. He described the animal as highly agitated. After running through the campground, the bull stopped at a patch of exposed soil and began wallowing, a common bison behavior in which the animal rolls in dust or dirt.
The man and his grandson were walking outside the camping loop and appeared to be at least 100 yards from the bison, MacLeod said. They briefly stopped while the animal was on the ground. When it began to rise, the two moved behind trees and appeared to be leaving the area.
A white pickup then traveled along the road, and the bison charged toward it, MacLeod said. The driver continued away. The animal changed direction, moved toward the trees and pursued the man and his grandson. MacLeod said the bison struck a small tree before chasing the pair around the wooded area.
The grandson got away, but the older man could not outrun the animal. MacLeod said the bison hooked the man with its left horn and sent him several feet above the animal’s back. After the man fell, the bull remained nearby and shook its head instead of immediately leaving.
Fearing that the bison might strike the injured visitor again, MacLeod stopped recording and tried to draw the animal’s attention. He said he ran toward it while yelling and making himself appear larger. Several other people joined him. The group’s actions caused the bison to run from the area, he said.
Campers then gathered around the injured man while keeping watch for the animal’s return. One person held his hand, another watched the edge of the area, and someone called 911. MacLeod said the man complained of severe pain around his hips and the leg on which he landed, though the witnesses did not initially find visible bleeding.
Yellowstone emergency medical personnel arrived and took over treatment. MacLeod later communicated with the grandson, who said his grandfather had significant injuries. No hospital, medical diagnosis or official prognosis had been publicly identified.
The account indicates the visitors were well beyond Yellowstone’s minimum wildlife distance when the encounter began. Park rules require people to remain at least 25 yards, or 23 meters, from bison. The agency says visitors should move away when an animal approaches and warns that bison can run three times faster than people.
The encounter followed another reported bison injury in Yellowstone this summer. A 12-year-old visitor was hurt June 26 near Mud Volcano, north of Fishing Bridge, and was taken to a hospital. The Park Service said that incident remained under investigation when it announced the injury July 2.
Park officials had not said whether they were investigating the Bridge Bay encounter or whether the bison was still being monitored. The identity of the injured man also had not been officially released.
Author note: Last updated July 13, 2026.