Editor’s Note: “Close Encounters: Tourists in the Wild” on The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper takes us to Yellowstone National Park, where visitors can misbehave and experience dangerous encounters with bears, bison and other animals. It premieres Sunday, August 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CNN.
CNN
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A dangerous encounter with a territorial bison and the subsequent viral video were not what Rebecca Clark had in mind when she headed to Caprock Canyons State Park in early October 2022.
She was so impressed with Texas’ third-largest state park on her first solo hiking and camping trip a year earlier that she decided to go there again. About a two-hour drive from Lubbock or the Panhandle city of Amarillo, Caprock lures visitors with wide blue skies, brown and green prairie landscapes and rugged red rock formations.
Caprock has another attraction – its wild bison herd, which will number about 350 animals by the end of 2022. But bison, the great symbol of the Great Plains, were not on their radar. Until they suddenly were.
The Texas resident told CNN anchor Ed Lavandera about her experience, telling him that she came across a herd while she was Way back from Theo Lake.
“I decided to just wait until they… crossed the path and then I would walk past them.” But they didn’t move fast enough for Clark. She said she decided to just walk past them – closer than the recommended safe distance. She filmed the moment with her smartphone.
In her video, Clark can be heard saying, “Thank you, I appreciate it” as she walks past the animals.
The situation quickly became dangerous when one of the agitated bison noticed me. “When I saw him turn around, I knew immediately that he was going to come after me.”
And that’s exactly what the bison did. Despite Clark’s desperate attempt to escape, the large mammal was with Clark within two seconds.
“It happened so fast. He hit me in the back, rammed me, hooked me and then threw me up and face first into the mesquite bush.”
And there was Clark. Impaled, bleeding and alone. How would she survive?
When provoked, it’s no wonder bison can be so dangerous to unarmed people like Clark. A full-grown male can weigh between 2,000 and 2,200 pounds (907 to 998 kilograms), and a full-grown female can weigh up to 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms), according to the National Park Service.
Considering their sharp horns and surprising speed (at least 30 mph or 50 km/h), this is an impressive animal. Wolf packs and grizzly bears are the only major natural enemies of adult bison.
But then there are humans, and when armed hunters take on herds of bison, it’s no contest. Native Americans lived in balance with bison for centuries, but contact with waves of European settlers proved disastrous for the animals. When they were on the brink of extinction in the late 19th century, conservationists stepped in.
Today, the herds roam across parts of 12 U.S. states. (Click here to see all NPS sites where bison live.) Yellowstone National Park is the only place where they have grazed continuously since prehistoric times.
Because wilderness areas are so popular, managing interactions between visitors and wildlife becomes complicated. That’s where people like Chris Geremia, Yellowstone’s lead bison biologist, come in.
“The first moment you see a grizzly bear, a wolf or a bison in this park is something you never forget. And we want people to be able to experience those moments. That’s one of the reasons why this place is so special,” Geremia told CNN’s Lavandera.
“But it also means that people can get hurt. You have to try to communicate with people. You have to keep your distance. You have to give the wild animals space, because they are wild animals.”
But how can there be such a conflict between peacefully grazing, herbivorous bison and the people who simply want to observe them?
“They are very peaceful animals, (but) when harassed, bison become incredibly aggressive and defend themselves,” Geremia said.
The best strategy to avoid attack is to keep a respectful distance when observing these animals. But how close is too close? Expert opinions vary.
NPS recommends “keeping a distance of 100 feet (30 meters or two bus lengths) from bison.” The Catalina Conservancy recommends that people stay at least 125 feet (40 yards or 38 meters) away from bison, but notes that there is no guaranteed safe distance. Parks Canada recommends an even greater distance. “Do not approach bison closer than 100 meters (about 330 feet) and never attempt to chase or scare away bison.”
Be sure to ask locals for advice before heading to the parks. The NPS also recommends bringing a camera with a telephoto lens to take photos from more than 80 feet away. This lens will help you resist the temptation to get closer and closer.
Tail raised and other signs of restlessness
You don’t have to be a bison expert to sense that something is wrong.
“The animals let you know when you’re too close,” Geremia said. “They raise their tails straight up. They wiggle or shake their heads. They paw the ground. And that means you’re… way too close.”
According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, just being noticed is enough to put you on high alert. “If you see a bison and it stops and starts paying attention to you, you are too close and should slowly back away.”
Other signs of potential problems caused by bison:
• It constantly stares at you.
• It shakes its head from side to side and roars or snorts.
• It turns its back to you, lifts its tail and defecates.
• It carries out a “mock attack” in which the animal runs but stops just before contact.
And what should you do if you see these signs?
“You have to go back. So I would literally just walk away,” Geremia said. “The faster you go away, the better. That’s all the animal is asking of you.”
Special times when special caution is required:
• May and June (when cows are very protective of their calves).
• July and August (this is the mating season, the so-called “rut”, when the bulls are aggressive).
• When cycling (you can drive too quickly and quietly into herds).
• If you are traveling with dogs (keep them on a leash).
The Catalina Conservancy advises making noise while hiking so as not to scare the bison and wearing earplugs so you can hear any wildlife nearby.
When hiking, don’t focus too much on the trail, advises the Utah DWR.
“If you are hiking and a bison is near or on the trail, you should either back off and return the way you came or leave the trail and give the animal a very wide berth as you pass.”
In the worst case, charges are actually brought, as was the case with Rebecca Clark in Texas. In this case, Catalina Conservancy suggests:
• Act confidently, shout loudly and wave your arms.
• If possible, throw something that might distract the bison’s gaze.
• If you cannot avoid contact, get as low to the ground as possible and protect your head and upper body.
• Playing dead can stop an attack.
But if a 900-kilogram animal with horns comes at you at 30 miles per hour, “you will be seriously injured,” Geremia says.
Rebecca Clark knew for sure that she was hurt.
“I knew he had hit me. I didn’t know he had impaled me. … Honestly, I thought I was paralyzed. That’s how numb I was,” she said. “I turned around and knew I had to call for help. That was my first instinct.”
Luckily, Clark was conscious and able to move. She began texting her son and two friends for help. At one point, she thought she felt her water bottle leak. But she felt blood coming from the stab wound.
The herd of bison remained near Clark, she said, until a park ranger came to the rescue about 40 minutes later, she estimated. Emergency medical personnel arrived about 10 minutes later.
She was hospitalized for six days and received intensive wound care to prevent the three-inch gash on her back from becoming infected. Clark said she decided to share her video on social media so others could learn from her incident.
“You know, I didn’t do as much research about bison as I should have before my hike.”
But she doesn’t want what happened to her to deter anyone from going out into the great outdoors.
“I try to preserve the opportunity to experience nature.”
