Bison dies after appearing to fall into popular Yellowstone hot spring
A bison in Yellowstone National Park appeared to stumble into the steaming hot waters of Grand Prismatic Spring, causing its death as tourists looked on during the park's busiest season.
The bison fell into the hot spring at Midway Geyer Basin near Old Faithful early Saturday, a spokesperson for Yellowstone confirmed to NBC News.
It's not entirely clear exactly how or why the bison ended up in the hot spring, said Michael Poland, the scientist-in-charge at Yellowstone Volcano Observatory and a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey.
But after observing video of the accident, Poland said it looked like the bison got too close to the spring, stumbled further into the scalding water and then appeared to thrash around before falling into an even hotter part of Grand Prismatic, causing its death.
Poland said the bison died "fairly quickly," and dispelled rumors that the spring's water is highly acidic, causing the animal to burn.
Most hot springs are actually neutral, Poland explained, but the temperatures are so extreme that the bison likely boiled to its own death.
Grand Prismatic is about 300 feet wide and its temperatures reach 192 degrees Fahrenheit, Poland said. Boiling point at Yellowstone, because of its high altitude, is 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
"This bison carcass is basically sitting in a pool of nearly boiling water, and ... that boiling water will eat away at the organic material, the tissues, and eventually there will just be some bone" leftover, Poland said.
It's not the most uncommon of occurrences, Poland said. Often, animals will walk along the edge of hot springs. In most instances, animals fall in because the crust surrounding the pool is thinner than it appears and can break with enough weight.
"It's possible something like that happened," Poland said. "Perhaps a little shelf that [the bison] was standing on collapsed and that exposed [it] to more hot water."
Poland added: "But I can't say for sure."
He noted that he's never heard of this happening at Grand Prismatic before, and said it's not entirely clear just how often it happens. Scientists know it occurs at least from time to time, though, because animal skeletons can be found at hot springs around the park, many of which are in the backcountry, away from tourist activity, Poland said.
What makes this case unique is the fact that the bison died in the largest and most tourist-populated spring in the park during the summer busy season.
Katie Hirtzel was visiting Yellowstone National Park and witnessed the bison's demise, according to her post on Facebook. She said watching the entire episode was "incredibly powerful and moving."
"It was amazing to witness raw nature and the circle of life in front of our eyes like that," Hirtzel said. "It is going to be interesting to see how the park decides to move forward as scavengers are drawn to such a populated area."
Poland said he sees this as a cautionary tale for humans visiting the park. He said visitors should stay on the boardwalks — which are there for a reason — and not get too close.
"It's amazing to go and visit these places in Yellowstone. They are spectacular," Poland said. "But this is why it's so important to stay on the boardwalks."
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Yellowstone bison dies after stumbling into near-boiling waters of popular hot spring
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Bison dies after appearing to fall into popular Yellowstone hot spring
A bison in Yellowstone National Park appeared to stumble into the steaming hot waters of Grand Prismatic Spring, causing its death as tourists looked on during the park's busiest season. The bison fell into the hot spring at Midway Geyer Basin near Old Faithful early Saturday, a spokesperson for Yellowstone confirmed to NBC News. It's not entirely clear exactly how or why the bison ended up in the hot spring, said Michael Poland, the scientist-in-charge at Yellowstone Volcano Observatory and a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey. But after observing video of the accident, Poland said it looked like the bison got too close to the spring, stumbled further into the scalding water and then appeared to thrash around before falling into an even hotter part of Grand Prismatic, causing its death. Poland said the bison died "fairly quickly," and dispelled rumors that the spring's water is highly acidic, causing the animal to burn. Most hot springs are actually neutral, Poland explained, but the temperatures are so extreme that the bison likely boiled to its own death. Grand Prismatic is about 300 feet wide and its temperatures reach 192 degrees Fahrenheit, Poland said. Boiling point at Yellowstone, because of its high altitude, is 200 degrees Fahrenheit. "This bison carcass is basically sitting in a pool of nearly boiling water, and ... that boiling water will eat away at the organic material, the tissues, and eventually there will just be some bone" leftover, Poland said. It's not the most uncommon of occurrences, Poland said. Often, animals will walk along the edge of hot springs. In most instances, animals fall in because the crust surrounding the pool is thinner than it appears and can break with enough weight. "It's possible something like that happened," Poland said. "Perhaps a little shelf that [the bison] was standing on collapsed and that exposed [it] to more hot water." Poland added: "But I can't say for sure." He noted that he's never heard of this happening at Grand Prismatic before, and said it's not entirely clear just how often it happens. Scientists know it occurs at least from time to time, though, because animal skeletons can be found at hot springs around the park, many of which are in the backcountry, away from tourist activity, Poland said. What makes this case unique is the fact that the bison died in the largest and most tourist-populated spring in the park during the summer busy season. Katie Hirtzel was visiting Yellowstone National Park and witnessed the bison's demise, according to her post on Facebook. She said watching the entire episode was "incredibly powerful and moving." "It was amazing to witness raw nature and the circle of life in front of our eyes like that," Hirtzel said. "It is going to be interesting to see how the park decides to move forward as scavengers are drawn to such a populated area." Poland said he sees this as a cautionary tale for humans visiting the park. He said visitors should stay on the boardwalks — which are there for a reason — and not get too close. "It's amazing to go and visit these places in Yellowstone. They are spectacular," Poland said. "But this is why it's so important to stay on the boardwalks."
