Grandpa Thrown Into the Air by Bison Stopped to Take Photo Moments Before

Most folks have likely seen the shocking images of Carl McDaniel being tossed eight feet into the air by a rampaging bison in Yellowstone National Park.

The incident occurred at Bridge Bay Campground near Yellowstone Lake on Friday night. The footage was filmed by photographer Mike MacLeod, who tells The New York Times that the bison was visibly agitated before the attack and already charged at a group of teenagers prior to lunging at McDaniel.

MacLeod says that there were lots of tourists and campers in the area and everyone was keeping their distance from the bison, which may have been experiencing a surge of testosterone as mating season is about to begin.

“When he got up, it was kicking like a rodeo horse who’s clearly very agitated,” says MacLeod, who is based 130 miles away in Bozeman, Montana.

In the footage, McDaniel can be seen walking a distance away with his grandson. The pair stops to take photos on their smartphones and they walk away before the bison is back on its feet.

“The bison stopped rolling in the dust and kind of sat up. He’s looking in the direction of those two,” says MacLeod. “And as soon as they stop taking pictures, the bison stands up and the grandfather’s like, ‘Let’s get out of here. I don’t like this.’”

The massive bison quickly catches up to McDaniel and his grandson and chases them around a cluster of pine trees. McDaniel’s grandson is able to escape, but grandpa is not so lucky and is tossed high into the air. Afterward, the bison didn’t leave and was stomping up and down; McDaniel’s life was in serious danger.

“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 distracting,” says MacLeod. The Times reports that others followed MacLeod’s example and the bison eventually ran away.

McDaniel, who is a community leader in Washington state and has been described as a Good Samaritan, suffered several broken bones but was conscious and talkative after the incident.

“Most people see that these two did not ask for it,” MacLeod notes of the incident, telling Cowboy State Daily that he has been around bison for a while, “but this was really weird.”

“Why did it pick those two? There were so many people around, and most of them were closer to and behind the bison. It was really weird.”

The fact is, there have been many more reckless visitors to Yellowstone National Park who have gotten way too close to bison. Last year, a Florida man was gored by a bison after he approached one.