This Wasn’t A Selfie Stunt—The Bull Charged From A Distance
The internet loves a clean little wildlife morality play: tourist ignores every warning, gets too close for a photo and receives an immediate lesson from an animal that never agreed to become somebody’s vacation prop. This viral Yellowstone video is not that story.
A bull bison charged a grandfather and his grandson at Bridge Bay Campground in Yellowstone National Park on Friday, July 10, sending the 65-year-old man roughly eight feet into the air. The footage is astonishing, but the fuller account matters: photographer Mike MacLeod, who recorded the incident, said the pair were farther away than other campers and maintaining what he considered a respectful distance.
The injured man has been identified as Carl Isom-McDaniel. He suffered multiple broken bones, including a broken leg that required surgery, but remained conscious while campers rushed in to help. According to MacLeod, Isom-McDaniel’s first concern was whether his grandson was safe.
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Yellowstone Is For Watching—From Way Over There
Wild animals do not care how good the camera angle might be. Read Yellowstone’s official safety guidance first, then keep binoculars or a spotting scope between you and anything capable of launching a grown adult.
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MacLeod said the animal had already been moving aggressively through the campground, charging toward young people near a tent and chasing another pair away from their campsite. He said he saw no clear provocation. When the bison turned toward the grandfather and child, they tried to retreat and use trees for cover, but the bull continued after them.
Then came the moment now bouncing around the internet: the bison caught Isom-McDaniel near the hip with a horn and flipped him high above its back. MacLeod stopped filming, ran toward the animal while shouting and waving his arms, and was joined by other campers who helped drive the bull away. Others called 911, checked the victim for severe bleeding and stayed with him until emergency responders arrived.
So no, this is not permission to treat bison casually. Yellowstone requires visitors to remain at least 25 yards—or 23 meters—from bison and other large animals. The National Park Service warns that bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal, can run about three times faster than humans and may charge even after appearing perfectly calm.
But it is also not fair to flatten every wildlife encounter into “dumb tourist gets what he deserved.” Witness accounts indicate that this grandfather recognized the danger, tried to leave and still became the target of an unpredictable wild animal during the summer breeding season. Sometimes the lesson is not that somebody behaved badly. Sometimes the lesson is simply that wild means wild.
The bull was not arrested, punished or hauled away for acting like a bull bison. The National Park Service is investigating the encounter, while Isom-McDaniel continues recovering. Yellowstone remains home to the country’s largest bison population on public land—and the only place in the contiguous United States where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times.
Watch The Yellowstone Bison Launch A Tourist Eight Feet
The news report shows the bull charging through Bridge Bay Campground before tossing Carl Isom-McDaniel into the air, followed by the rescue effort from nearby campers.
See The Viral Yellowstone Moment On INYIM
Our reel captures the frightening moment that sent the story flying across social media—along with the context that keeps it from becoming another lazy blame-the-tourist clip.
Source: National Park Service and KTVQ/MTN News. Original incident footage by Mike MacLeod.
