There has been an uptick in bison attacks in recent months, and ignorant people are to blame. The most recent one occurred, when a woman visiting South Dakota’s Custer State Park decided to approach a bison for a photo op and the vicious attack was caught on camera.
In the summer of 2020, a group of bikers headed to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Custer State Park, South Dakota, they thought they were in for a great time. With few COVID-19 restrictions in place, bikers were able to gather without social distancing or masks. However, this increased their risk of contracting the deadly virus responsible for COVID-19. Among the many attendees at the motorcycle rally was a 54-year-old woman from Iowa who had traveled all the way to the event and whose trip ended in a painful and embarrassing way.
While spending time at Custer State Park, she came across a herd of beautiful bison. One small wild bison calf was part of the group, and the Iowa woman wanted to get as close as possible to take a picture with it. Although Custer State Park urges visitors to stay away from wildlife, the woman chose to ignore all the rules and approached the baby bison, despite common sense urging her to stay away.
The woman soon learned why Custer State Park urges visitors to stay away from wildlife. Although the herd of bison had stopped along the road, they wanted to be left alone. The visitor from Iowa did not care and tried to get as close as she could to the baby bison, despite the potential risks.
The other bison in the herd soon became aware of the approaching woman. At that point, an adult bison, most likely the calf’s mother, bolted from the group and charged at the human. In front of all the other bikers, the woman was knocked to the ground when the bison struck her. They watched in awe as she was thrown into the air. The bison attack was so fearsome that the woman was literally knocked out of her pair of jeans. The bison’s horn got caught in the woman’s belt and she was knocked out of her jeans. As the woman flailed around in the air after being struck by the large animal, her pants came loose, and she was forced to run back to the safety of her group without anything covering her pasty legs. Because she had gotten too close to the baby, the mama bison was determined to make her pay.
With thousands of people shared comments and reactions to the footage of the woman getting knocked out of her pants. As Inside Edition picked up the footage and ran a report about the bison attack back in August 2020, when the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was happening.
One concerned viewer wrote, “Glad the bison is safe.”
One person wrote about the woman who approached the wild animals, saying, “Nah, that isn’t bravery. That’s stupidity.”
“Accident? I didn’t see any accident. I just saw a bison doing what bison do. Nothing accidental about it at all.”
“Wrong: fear is for those with brains. This woman clearly has no brains or pants.”
“The news reporter says it’s ’a bison accident.’ I’d just call it plain damn stupidity.”
Despite the attention the incident received, the woman remained unnamed. However, her experience serves as a cautionary tale for anyone considering approaching wildlife in parks or other natural areas.
Watch the video below for more details:
Sources: AWM, Dailymail, Today