14 DAY TRIAL // Bison can grow to weigh about 1,600 kilograms (5,500 pounds) and stand an impressive 2.5 meters (8 feet) tall. Besides, they are known to be quite temperamental.
Hence, one would assume anyone in their right mind would do their best to stay away from them. Admire them from a distance, yes. Attempt to take a selfie with such a majestic beast, not in a million years.
Still, this is precisely what happened in the Yellowstone National Park in the US earlier this week, on Tuesday. In a nutshell, a 43-year-old woman approached a bison hoping to get it to pose for a photo with her.
Rather than arrange its fur, position its hooves in a flattering stance and smile for the camera, however, the animal didn't really enjoy being in the spotlight. It turned around and ran straight for the Mississippi woman.
It missed her 6-year-old daughter, who was with her at the time, but it did manage to get the woman, whom it tossed into the air. Luckily, her husband intervened and the bison retreated.
The woman escaped with minor injuries
Given their impressive body size, it's pretty obvious that, when upset, bison can inflict serious injuries on whoever was foolish enough to upset their otherwise peaceful life.
Still, the 43-year-old Mississippi woman escaped her close encounter with the Yellowstone beast with just a few minor injuries, Washington Post tells us. Even so, she was rushed to the nearest hospital immediately after the incident.
Doctors dealt with her obvious injuries and also checked for signs of internal damage. When it became clear that the bison attack had not left her with any life-threatening wounds, the woman was allowed to go home.
Park officials say that, since the beginning of the year, five tourists careless enough to get too close to them have been attacked by bison in Yellowstone. Most of the people who approach bison do so hoping to snap a photo or two of them.