Bison Goring Season In Full Swing: Two Attacks In Two States In Three Days

It’s the rut — or mating season — for bull bison, which also means it’s goring season for those unlucky enough to be within charging distance. A North Dakota woman is in critical and "worsening" condition after a goring on Saturday.

Mark Heinz • July 18, 2023
3 min read



Bison have it in for tourists this summer as two attacks in Wyoming and North Dakota within two days of each other left a pair of women with devastating injuries.

A bison charged and gored a 47-year-old Arizona woman early Monday near Lake Lodge in Yellowstone Park. She suffered severe injuries to her chest and abdomen and was life-flighted to an Idaho hospital. Her name wasn’t released by the National Park Service. ... It was the first reported bison attack in Yellowstone this year, and the second in the region.

Another woman suffered ghastly injuries when a bison charged and stomped her at about 11 a.m. Saturday in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, according to reports. That woman’s name also wasn’t released, but she was reported to be in critical and “worsening” condition at the scene before being transferred to a nearby hospital.

Did They Get Too Close?

Details about the attacks were still scarce Tuesday, but there was some indication that the Yellowstone goring might not have been provoked. ... The woman was walking with another person in a field near Lake Lodge when they spotted two bison. They immediately turned and started walking the other way, but one of the bison charged and gored the woman, according to the NPS.

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According to NPS rules, visitors must stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves, and 25 yards away from all other wildlife, including bison.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.