Photographer shares unbelievable image of bison stampeding through crowd: 'Everyone ran and scattered'
Unofficial Networks shared photographer Jeff Vanuga's image from an Instagram post of the chaos, capturing the last bison of a group that had charged toward a crowd of people. Luckily, no one was injured.
It's the middle of winter in Yellowstone, so the ground is blanketed in white and filled with a haze of the snow that the bison is kicking up. In front of the bison stands a line of people frantically trying to get out of the way.
Vanuga explained the onlookers were observing wolves killing a bison cow about 100 feet below the road, but then a bison herd started charging at the crowd.
Vanuga wrote: "Everyone ran and scattered about as the bison thundered through people, snow coaches, and snowmobiles."
While bison are incredible to encounter on your visit to Yellowstone, they are also unpredictable.
According to Unofficial Networks, "bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal." They can also "run three times faster than humans."
The Yellowstone National Park safety rules advise staying at least 25 yards away from bison. At 100 feet, the photographers were following the guidelines, but it shows the unpredictable nature of bison.
There have been many incidents of tourists getting too close to bison. For example, a group of tourists caught on video got way too close to a bison while trying to take pictures of it, and the bison took a few steps at them in a charging manner.
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Another tourist snuck up on a bison when it was grazing, only to have it turn around and dart toward him. Luckily, the man was able to run away safely.
These tourists were lucky, but not everyone was. Last June, CBS News reported that "an 83-year-old woman was seriously injured when she was gored by a bison in Yellowstone National Park."
The national park has warned that "approaching wild animals can drastically affect their well-being and, in some cases, their survival."
In one instance, park officials were forced to put down a bison calf because of an encounter with a park visitor, CNN reported.
According to Yellowstone, bison are vital to the park's ecosystem. For more than 10,000 years, their "grazing patterns created successional vegetation, influenced natural fire regimes, and provided habitat for grassland insects, birds, and small mammals."
Instagram users were amazed at the image the photographer was able to capture.
One user said: "So much confusion and energy and adrenaline for them."
Another commenter described the incident as "incredible and natural."
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