Wild Video Shows Yellowstone Bison Launching Tourist Into the Air

If you have ever been to Yellowstone National Park, then you have probably seen herds of Bison roaming the roads and plains all throughout the park.

You will also see signs warning tourists not to agitate the bison.

However, one tourist abided by the rule not to annoy the bison, but it didn’t matter; he was charged by a bison from over 100 yards away and soon found himself several feet in the air after being attacked.

Watch the moment it happened here:

A tourist was seriously injured Friday evening after being thrown 8 feet into the air by a bull bison in Yellowstone National Park. Professional photographer Mike Macleod filmed the incident and said the bison was "angry, agitated and charging anything and everything." (No audio) pic.twitter.com/ELmHQjvxFj

— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) July 12, 2026

Fox News broke down the story:

A man was seriously injured Friday evening after an agitated bull bison chased him through a campground and launched him several feet into the air in one of the wildest human-animal encounters you will ever see.

The attack happened at Bridge Bay Campground, south of Fishing Bridge, and was captured on video by professional photographer Mike MacLeod.

The unidentified man was reportedly walking with his grandson when the bison targeted them from roughly 100 yards away — well beyond the 25-yard minimum distance Yellowstone requires visitors to maintain from bison.

And the video makes it clear this animal was already looking for trouble.

Before the man and his grandson entered the picture, the bull had reportedly charged a group of children who were taking photos from a safe distance. The kids scattered, and the bison eventually stopped to wallow in a patch of dirt.

That is when the man and his grandson came around the corner, unaware of everything that had just happened.

“They were just out for an evening walk, just happened to turn around the corner, and there’s a bison,” MacLeod told Cowboy State Daily.

The pair initially stopped to take photos while the animal appeared to be resting. But when the bison started to stand, the grandfather recognized it was time to go, and the two moved behind a group of trees.

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Then a white pickup truck drove past. For whatever reason, that apparently sent the bull right back over the edge.

“The bison was charging the truck,” MacLeod said. “The guy in the truck saw that happening, and he just kept going. The bison (then went) to where these two were hiding in the trees.”

The footage shows the enormous animal barrel into the trees as the man desperately tries to stay on the opposite side of the trunks. For a moment, the bison becomes distracted and takes its anger out on a small sapling.

But then it spots the man again.

The bull races after him, catches him with its horn and sends him flipping high into the air before he crashes onto his side.

“The bison hooked him with his left horn on his hip and tossed him in the air,” MacLeod said. “He made a perfect flip and landed on his side. The bison was at least 6 feet tall, and (the victim) was several feet above him.”

Here’s a frame-by-frame look at the incident:

A tourist was seriously injured after being thrown 8 feet into the air by a bull bison in Yellowstone National Park.

Professional photographer Mike Macleod filmed the incident. https://t.co/aL5Pdc9NGk pic.twitter.com/NvMiNOQ2RH

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 12, 2026

The Cowboy State Daily reported bystanders came to the man’s rescue:

When the older man hit the ground, the bison stopped but didn’t run away. It stood over the man he’d just tossed, shaking his head in an obvious display of agitation.
That’s when MacLeod decided he had to do something.
“I had to get the bison’s attention,” he said. “I was really afraid he was going to gore the guy on the ground, so I stopped videotaping and ran at the bison, yelled loud, and was trying to be as big and intimidating as possible.”
Following MacLeod’s lead, a few other observers did the same and darted toward the bison. That was enough to send it running.

“He really took off when he left,” MacLeod said.
When the bison was gone, everyone rushed toward the victim. He was in a lot of pain, particularly in his hips and the leg he landed on, but MacLeod and others couldn’t see any external injuries.

“One guy held his hand,” MacLeod said. “Another guy pulled security on the outside to make sure that bison didn’t come back. A gal in a car was on the phone with 911, and another gal did a blood sweep, but we couldn’t find any blood.”

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Yellowstone EMS quickly arrived and took over. MacLeod has been in touch with the victim’s grandson, who told him that his grandfather “has some pretty significant injuries and is not out of the woods yet.”

“He was really worried and wanted to see the video to make sure that it wasn’t his fault,” MacLeod said. “You can tell in the video it’s not his fault. You can tell from the very beginning.”