Woman escapes bison attack at Yellowstone Park by playing dead

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Woman escapes bison attack at Yellowstone Park by playing dead
A frightening moment was caught on camera of a bison charging at a woman at Yellowstone National Park.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming -- A frightening encounter was caught on camera of a bison charging at a woman at Yellowstone National Park.

Cell phone video shows the woman trip while running away from the bison.

People in the area yelled at the woman to play dead.

The woman listened and it worked.

RELATED | Video shows CA woman, 72, approach bison at Yellowstone before it charged, gored her

The teen who captured the video says she spoke to the woman after the ordeal.

"She was like wow, this is crazy," Cloie Musumecci said. "She's actually from New York but she lives in Montana, so she knew that I needed to play dead and not get up and keep running because he was already close to me."

Yellowstone officials stress that humans should give all wildlife in the park at least 25 yards of distance.

"Bisons can be very unpredictable, that's the risk with them," Rachel Bale of National Geographic said. "They may look calm sitting right off the path but they can change in an instant."

Bisons injure more people than any other animal within the park and it is a completely preventable encounter.

Copyright © 2024 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.