A 34-year-old Colorado man was gored by a bison while visiting Yellowstone National Park with his family this week in the second attack of its kind in just a month.
The man was walking with his family on a boardwalk near Giant Geyser on Monday when a bull bison charged toward the group, the National Park Service said in a release.
Despite being the massive creature’s target, the family did not leave the area.
The bull bison continued to charge at the family, eventually goring the man, who sustained an injury to his arm. He was brought by ambulance to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.
This is the second reported incident this year that involved a Yellowstone visitor ‘getting too close to the animal and the bison responding to the perceived threat by goring the individual.’
National Park Service officials are warning park visitors to stay over 25 yards (23m) away from all large animals, like bison, elk, deer, moose and coyotes, and at least 100 yards (91m) away from bears and wolves.
According to park officials, people should stay away from bison because they’re unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans.
The first bison attack reported this year involved a 25-year-old woman from Ohio
The bison was walking near a boardwalk at Black Sand Basin, just north of Old Faithful, when the woman got too close to it and it attacked.
Both instances are being investigated by park officials.
The attack comes about a week after .
All five entrances to the park, which spans over parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, were closed for several weeks due to the historic flooding that destroyed bridges and roads inside the park.
The Park Service announced on June 18 that visitors would be allowed to enter the park’s southern loop, though crowds would be drastically scaled back from the normal amount of tourists that flock in during the summertime.
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