- Grandfather seriously injured after a Yellowstone bull bison tossed him about 8 feet into the air, as captured on video by photographer Mike Macleod.
- The bull bison displayed aggressive behavior before charging a group of teenagers, who were taking pictures nearby.
- Carl McDaniel, the grandfather, was walking with his grandson when they encountered the bison and attempted to record the event.
- McDaniel attempted to leave the area with his grandson, but the bison targeted him instead, resulting in serious injuries.
- Emergency medical technicians arrived promptly and transported McDaniel to the nearest medical facility.
- McDaniel is currently undergoing surgery for breaks to his femur, which are expected to be fixable but will require a lengthy recovery.
- This incident marks the second bison attack at Yellowstone Park in 2026.
A Yellowstone bull bison attacked Carl McDaniel, tossing him eight feet into the air while he was trying to protect his grandson. The incident, captured on video by photographer Mike Macleod, shows the bison charging at the pair, with Macleod suggesting that Carl's actions saved his grandson's life.
"He went after Carl and his grandson," MacLeod said. "You can see the rest of the video happening around the tree. The grandson disappeared. My guess is that Carl saved his grandson’s life by being the target, and he got hooked and thrown."
Carl sustained serious injuries, including breaks to his femur, and is currently undergoing surgery. "He has breaks to his femur and it sounds like they’re going to be fixable, but it’s going to be a lengthy recovery," MacLeod reported.6
Witnesses described the chaotic scene, with teenage boys nearby scattering as the bison charged. "They were just taking pictures with their cellphones and suddenly, without provocation that I could see, the bison charged these boys," one witness recounted.
MacLeod, who feared for Carl's safety, ran at the bison with other men to scare it away. "I knew the bison was so agitated," he said. "You could see, at the end of the video, he was pumping his feet and pumping his head, and I was really worried he was going to gore Carl."
The incident marks the second bison attack at Yellowstone Park in 2026, raising concerns about wildlife interactions in the area.7
“Photographer Mike MacLeod, who witnessed the attack, captured the incident on video and later helped scare away the bison. The grandfather, Carl McDaniel, suffered a broken femur and is in surgery; this is the second bison attack at Yellowstone in 2026.”
Oil City News
