The 65-year-old was seriously injured by the animal that charged and launched him eight feet into the air. Carl Isom-McDaniel suffered a broken femur in four places as well as a fractured hip. He underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.
Park officials say bison will defend their space when threatened, but Mike MacLoed, the man who captured the attack on video, said McDaniel and his grandson, who were simply taking a walk after dinner, did "everything right."
"We saw the bison, and he was down; he wasn't showing aggression or anything like that until it picked a target," McDaniel told CBS from his hospital bed in Montana. "That target happened to be me. He just kept coming, and he was more aggressive. As soon as he got off that tree, he launched me into the air."
This is the second recorded bison attack at Yellowstone National Park this year. After a 12-year-old visitor was injured by a bison near Mud Volcano on June 26, the National Park Service issued a public advisory reminding visitors that bison are unpredictable and have injured more people in the park than any other animal.
Visitors are advised to maintain a strict distance of at least 25 yards from bison, elk, and deer, and 100 yards from bears and wolves. Because bison are highly unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans, people are also encouraged to learn to recognize warning signs like a raised tail, pawing ground, or loud grunting.
Experts say the attack on McDaniel was tied to the animal's peak mating season, and park officials told TMZ in a statement that no "management action" will be taken against the wild animal.
"People come to the national park because it's wild and risky," MacLoed told CBS. "That's part of the downside, is that there's a risk."
