Grandfather Thrown 8 Feet by Bison at Yellowstone; Second Attack This Year

Carl Isom-McDaniel, 65, from Kendall, Washington, was thrown 8 feet into the air by a bison on July 10 at Bridge Bay Campground near Yellowstone Lake during an after-dinner walk with his grandson. The attack left McDaniel with a femur broken in multiple places, requiring surgery. He is recovering at Bozeman Health Deaconess Medical Center in southern Montana.

McDaniel described the bison as showing no signs of aggression until it suddenly selected him as a target. "He wasn't showing aggression or anything like that until it picked a target. That target happened to be me," McDaniel said in a video recorded from his hospital bed days after the incident. He emphasized that the impact with the ground caused more damage than the initial toss. "I didn't get bruises from him launching me in the air. It was the landing that became the problem." His grandson was not injured in the attack.

Witness Mike MacLeod, a photographer, captured the incident and said he and other campground visitors helped chase the bison away. MacLeod noted the animal had charged a group of teenagers moments before attacking McDaniel. He believed McDaniel's actions protected his grandson from the brunt of the attack. Neither McDaniel nor his grandson did anything to provoke the animal, according to multiple accounts.

Bison are capable of running up to 35 mph and weigh up to 2,000 pounds, making them among North America's most dangerous animals. The National Park Service recommends maintaining a distance of 100 feet from bison. Yellowstone records an average of a couple of bison attacks per year. This incident marks the second documented bison attack at Yellowstone in 2026, following an attack on a 12-year-old visitor in June 2026.