How dangerous are bison in Yellowstone?
 

Just a reminder that bison are dangerous! As this guy found out this past weekend, he should have heeded the park's warning about keeping his distance from bison and could have avoided an unprovoked attack:
http://hikinginglacier.blogspot.com/...r-failing.html

The danger is, indeed, very real. I remember our first trip there when fortunately my wife noticed an "unhappy" (for want of a better word) bison as I was taking a photograph of the animal. Her near-panic warning alerted me to move away very quickly....and I did.

All wild animals are dangerous, especially if cornered or if you come between them and their food, escape route, or offspring.

You may have seen the video of the tourist trying to shove a bear into the driver's seat of his car so he could take a clever photo.

The Bison can get to be 1,500 lbs - and are fast and as nimble as goats. Don't get too close or spook them.

Same goes for any wild animal - especially the ones bigger than you. :)

I was once (decades ago) working in the area and saw a father trying to get his little boy to go into a meadow and stand next to one for a photo. The ranger was hysterical, yelling through a bullhorn, "sir do not not approach the buffalo they are very dangerous sir do not approach...!!" He was so upset that he could only scream his one line warning over and over as he raced to the child and stopped him.
The father actually seemed irked.

Obviously the bison are a lot smarter than some of the people.
Since most people no longer have contct with the wild our society is no longer deprived of (saved from)the really stupid members who think wild animals are disney characters.

I have wondered when watching some bison run across a field, up onto the road, between some cars and down into the field on the other side.

What if they miss the relatively small opening between the cars?

What if the drive happens to move the car a few feet.

They seem to be running with their heads down.

That sound you hear isn't thunder although it sounds like it.

I always figured you were pretty safe in a car and that only elk, not bison, attacked vehicles. But a couple of months ago I saw a You-Tube video of a herd crossing the road and meandering between - and sometimes along side - the stopped cars. A bull casually wandered the length of one of the cars, turned his head slightly, tore off the bottom panel along the driver's side, and then just kept wandering on. Nothing appeared to happen to disturb him. He didn't seem to be upset, it looked like he just did it because he could. (When he could move, the driver left dragging the panel behind him. Didn't seem interested in getting out to inspect the damage, which probably makes him smarter than a lot of tourists.)

LOL Polly: Yes, he did it becauae he could. Sometimes the bulls just need to show they are the baddeest dudes in the area. :) And these animals are so strong it's just amazing, and again, very fast and agile when need be.

And no - I woldn't chase after that guy trying to get his collar number. :)

Most of the time, stampeding animals do not run over big objects in their way but amazingly go around them, but not all the time. In any event - I would not want to be sitting in a car/whatever - while they were hauling axx right past you.

Even a herd of antelope - the fastest land animal in the US - can easily knock you down - and they "only" weigh about as much as you do, even less.

How dangerous are the stupid people in Yellowstone? Saw a guy at GTNP holding up his baby towards a moose for a photo designed to look like the kid was petting the moose (which was relatively tame for a moose since it was eating landscaping at a condo).

Considering how much damage a tiny deer can do to a car when they collide - I would get my car out of the way if any bison headed in my direction - considering they can weigh 10 times as much.

These idiots who endanger their little children for photo ops should be prosecuted, both for child endangerment and for sheer stupidity.

I worked at old faithful for a summer--it was truly astonishing!! People thought they were tame animals and wondered when the rangers let them out. I am not kidding.

Bison aren't dangerous if you stay in your car and don't mess with them.

One of the things that always astonishes me in Yellowstone is crowds gathered on the side of the road to take close up photos of bears about which they have been warned to not approach within 100 yards.

Also watch out for spaced-out individuals on walkways over boiling substances who barge around without concern that their doltishness might endanger you.

Grand Teton NP is a much saner place.

HTTY

Just read an article on the loss of Bison in this country - and it was really due more to disease/interaction with cattle coming West - than over-hunting.

In any event - the cows alone can get to 1,500 lbs, and the Bulls - up to 2,500 lbs. That's a lot of mojo on the hoof, believe me.

And people also take pics of Bull Elk - which outside of the rutting season are fairly docile - but if they get riles up - they too are a force to be reckoned with. Huge Antlers, and they weight 700 pounds plus.

I once saw a huge bull elk, between Banff and Jasper, eating grass just off the shoulder of the road. A few tourists had stopped, and kept a respectable distance, while taking pictures, etc. But one "photographer" (with a disposable camera) kept going closer, and closer, to get the prized shot. The bull picked his head up, stared him down, and then waved his head side to side a bit. Sure looked like a warning to me. But the photog didn't stop, just kept going closer, with the camera up to his eye.... so the bull started after him, though he only took 3 or 4 steps before stopping. Luckily, a false charge. The guy took off running, and never looked back until he got into his car.
One of the funnier things that I've ever seen! Fortunately, it wasn't a sad ending.

I once saw a bison stroll into a post office. I didn't stick around to see what it was up to.

A bison nearly got into Lake Hotel when we were there.

I've been thinking about taking my daughter Smart Car to Yellowstone and dueling it out with some bison. LOL. I have some reindeer antlers she puts on it at Christmas and everything.

LOL Spiro. My bet is on the Bison and I am giving 10 to 1 odds. :)

I was just watching and photographing that herd near Norris this past week. There were lots of calves in it. Maybe that's what had the bison a little on edge.

I'm wrapping up my Yellowstone trip now, and I may post a little about it later. In short, as everyone else said above, Yellowstone visitors are morons. I saw a man drive his minivan within 15 feet of a bull elk that was grazing by the side of the road, open the side door, and then let his two kids (ages approximately 3 and 5) wander around freely while he went back inside to get his camera or something. Another couple near Mammoth was actually holding their toddler up in the air so he could try to pet a mother elk on the head.

Those events were upsetting, because there were small children involved. But I did enjoy watching some guy sprinting up out of a meadow and back to his car near the geyser basins, after he ignored everyone's warnings not to walk down there amongst the bison. He was so busy snapping pictures that he never even would have noticed the animal coming at him from the side, if his wife hadn't been shouting at him hysterically.

Last night a bison ambled through the parking lot at the Lake Lodge, on his way over to graze in the meadow by the lake. I noted that he was clearly smaller than the full-size pickup trucks, but comparable in bulk to the Civics. So I'm betting with Tomsd: the Smart Car is going down.

I also own a Jeep. My first thought was when going to Yellowstone a few years to take it and of course, you would want to have the top and doors off to ride around. It was probably a good thing that it had snowed there and was cold enough that we left the top on. Seriously, I wouldn't have taken the top off and I think one with a soft top would be really bad news in Yellowstone.

I think of it as a form of natural selection. Maybe all the really stupid tourists eventually will be killed off by the bison, elk, etc., and replaced by those who seem to understand that these really are WILD animals.

Ohhh. The crowd got tougher after bettyk chimed in. :)

I suspect the wild animals in Yellowstone will grow increasingly skittish as the wolf population increases/stabilizes.

Truly awesome to see the wild creatures in their habitat; but oh, jeez, some people really think they're in a theme park!

BTW, I haven't seen a bear near the roads/people since before the fires.

Sylvia3, there were at least two mama black bears with cubs hanging out right by the road last week, between Tower and Canyon. They were very popular with the tourists. Not so much with the rangers, who had to go out there and direct traffic every day.

There was a lot of discussion among critterphiles about how the increasing wolf population is affecting other species in the park. The coyotes are not psyched. They're apparently being driven out of their prior neighborhoods, into areas closer to the roads. I had not seen any coyotes in prior trips, but this time I saw two, and in both cases they trotted right across the road and through small crowds of people who had gathered to look at bears.

Coyotes will go anywhere - we had a couple of Central Park.

As for bears - NJ is full of them and they routinely turn up in backyards - yes, drawn by the garbage.

When I worked in Jersey I got off an exit of Route 80 (6 lanes with heavy traffic at rush hours) and there was an adolescent bear sitting in the middle of the exit ramp. It was spring and I think the mama had a new cub and drove off the one from the previous year - who didn't have a clue. It just sat in the middle of the ramp and I had to drive around it. When I could pull over I called the police (not sure who else to call) - since it was lucky not to have been hit yet. (This is about 35/40 minutes from Manhattan - in an area with not not just private houses, but apartment complexes, townhouse colonies, office parks and a bunch of large strip malls.

Granted an adolescent black bear isn't a grizzly - but more than a match for anyone without a big gun.

No wild animal is dangerous, so long as you leave them alone and stay away from them. If you are stupid enough to get out of your car and try to approach them then you get what you ask for... Trouble. I seen people do just that and even send their child to get close just so that they can take a picture of the child with a Bison or an Elk and even an Elephant, ( which killed the child by the way). Use common sense and stay in the car with the windows closed, no matter how "cute" they look. The animals don't want to hurt anyone but if they think you are a threat to them they WILL attack. and they don't know the difference between you or your child.

While we're at it let's remind people (who, btw, won't pay attention to this either) that ALL animals can be dangerous.

While walking my Dalmation once, a man swooped his little kid off of his shoulder and stuck the kid in front of my dog's face. (dalmations are squirrely anyway) Scared the dog, if I hadn't had a good grasp of the leash ... well who wants to think about it.

These nuts should consider themselves lucky if all they find out is that Pepe le Pew isn't that cute close up.

All wild animals CAN be dangerous - but unless they are very hungry, or rabid - or you distrub them - especially if you seem like a threat to their young ones - you can wind up in a pickle - when ordinarily - they are happy to mind their own business.

And wily coyotes can live anywhere. We live in the middle of San Diego - just north of Mission Valley - two miles from the Ocean - near a branch of Tecolote Canyon and those dang "wild dogs" trot through the neighborhood every once in a while.

They are more aggressive in the spring/mating season - but rarely bother people - except the dummies who feed them and then can get bit when they don't have any more food for poor widdle Coyote.

And Coyotes live by killing their prey - and have long/sharp teeth. An animal control officer told me two coyotes - which only weigh about 30 lbs out here in west - and can weigh a bit more - 40 pounds some places back east - can easily dispatch (KILL) a 90-100 pound male Geman Shepard.

The domesticated dogs do not go for the throat in a dog fight - usually just snarling and snapping - and one coyote will go around behind the dog and bite at the haunches - and when the dog turns to snap at him - the other coyote will zip in and grab it by the throat and kill it.

Shame - but it happens.

Yes, well - dogs ARE domsticated - except those that have been abused and trained to fight.

Over 100,000 years they have been partners of humans and trained how to behave around us. Naturally they aren't a match for wild animals that have to hunt to eat - instead of being fed wonderful doggie food twice a day.

Yes, well - dogs ARE domsticated - except those that have been abused and trained to fight.

Over 100,000 years they have been partners of humans and trained how to behave around us. Naturally they aren't a match for wild animals that have to hunt to eat - instead of being fed wonderful doggie food twice a day.

The coyotes live on the hill behind my house. And when I lived in Idaho, they would come downy to the barn in winter to eat the mice. We quit keeping barn cats because the coyotes ate them. They never bothered our med-large dogs and never have bothered me. I would much rather encounter a coyote than a bull moose in rut (or a cow with a calf) ANY day!!!! And bison are so big, they just don't care :-)

Nytraveler? Not sure I understand your point?

Normally - a mammal over twice as big as another similar species usually has the upper hand - but not so for the 90/100 lb domestic dogs v. 30 lb Coyotes.

Even Pit Bulls don't usually go for the throat - they just grab with their incredibly strong jaws - and hang on and tear flesh. Very gruesome - but that's how they fight in the pits.

And Stanton: They old saying is that if a cat gets away from a Coyote the first time - they usually learn their lesson -but you didn't find that to be the case?

Coyotes normally don't bother humans - but sometimes they will kill domestic dogs just for the sport.

Well, for the "sport" and also a meal. :)

NYtraveler and Tomsd. Look up and American Bulldog. My AB was a great family dog(left alone many hours with 4 and 5 year olds in the back yard and never an incident, but could also catch wild hogs(we're talking very aggressive hogs with cutters). AB's are similar to a pit, but bigger and usually less agressive. Petie on Little Rascals and Chance on Homeward Bound were both AB's. Actually, there were several different dogs on Little Rascals with a painted eye. I had a litter of puppies from Chance and my female(his real name was Rattler), from the first Homeward Bound. Rattler was a certified arson dog, anda catch dog(hogs and cows)and a certified therapy dog and visitied hospitals and nursing homes regularly.

The point is that dogs are domesticated and have lost the instinct to hunt and to kill. Coyotes have not. That's why they can kill a dog. And why a 30 lb lynx can bring down a deer.

Tomsd--the cats have to get away first!! Ours did not. We just kept repleninshing until my mother decided she wasn't running a winter "coyote soup kitchen" :-) I'll take coyotes over many other wild critters--they really don't bother people in the intermountain west. And I like hearing them yap at the moon!

Spiro - am familiar with the distinction between the "Pit Bull" and the American Bulldog. As far as I know - your pet/his line - don't have anywhere near the frequency of bites/maulings that the Pits do.

LOL Stanton: A "coyote soup kitchen". And sorry your pet cats kept getting nailed - and yes, if the cat gets away the first time - a big IF - they seem to learn their lesson about the wily coyote.

This same animal control officer said sometimes coyotes would scratch around - outside a fence where a domestic dog was kept - and when the dog came out to investigate - the Coyote would jump the fence and kill the dog.

The Coyotes have been survivors forever. Even when ranchers tried to eradicate them - you had to do it three years in a row or they just had more pups in the litters and were back to full strength the next year.

And NYT: You know what they say about an attack by a wild cat? It's like getting hit with several buzz saws - and I don't know about the smaller Lynx - but the Cougar/Puma/Mountain Lion - and their counterpart - the African Leopard - can inflict something like 100 stitches worth of damage to you in about a second.

4 whirling claws of steel to go along with the ripping teeth.

Naturally the Lynx are much smaller - but can kill something way bigger than they are. I had 2 Maine Coon Cats - big for cats but perhaps 20 pounds to a Lynx at 30 or 35 - and they were practically impossible to handle they were so strong (not mean, absolute sweeties) but it took 2 grown people to get either one into a crate to go to the vet.

Animals are REALLY strong for their size.