Bison toss Yellowstone grandfather into air, injuring him near campsite
A grandfather shielding his grandson was tossed about 8 feet by a bison near Bridge Bay Campground, in Yellowstone’s latest wildlife injury. The attack came as visitor encounters keep colliding with basic distance rules.
Visitors keep getting too close to Yellowstone’s bison, and the cost can be immediate. A 65-year-old man was injured Friday evening, July 10, 2026, after a bison flung him through the air near Bridge Bay Campground, park officials said, leaving his grandson unharmed and the grandfather taken by emergency medical personnel to a nearby hospital.
Witness video showed the animal tossing the man about 8 feet into the air. A witness said the man appeared to shield his grandson as the bison charged, and that the pair did not provoke the animal. Some outlets identified the injured visitor as Carl McDaniel of Kendall, Washington, and reports said he remained conscious after the attack, later recovering after surgery with several broken bones.
The episode landed in the middle of Yellowstone’s busy summer wildlife season and during bison rut, when bulls can be more aggressive. Yellowstone officials said the incident was under investigation. The park has repeatedly warned that bison are wild and dangerous, and the National Park Service says visitors should stay at least 25 yards away from bison and other non-bear wildlife. If an animal moves closer, officials say, back away to keep a safe distance.
The attack also followed another bison injury in the park just two weeks earlier. On June 26, a 12-year-old visitor was injured near Mud Volcano at about 9:15 a.m., in what park officials described as the first reported bison injury in Yellowstone this year. Yellowstone later logged two bison-related visitor injuries in 2025 and two more in 2024, underscoring how often the same mistake turns into a hazardous encounter.
For families moving through Yellowstone’s campgrounds, boardwalks and pullouts, the pattern is plain: bison are not photo props, and the park’s 25-yard rule is not a suggestion. Rangers cannot prevent every close approach in a park that draws heavy summer traffic and constant wildlife viewing, which leaves the most important enforcement with the people standing closest to the animal.
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