Bison are Mean
September 10th, 2007 Wade
I saw a reference to this story at MSNBC on the Outdoor Weblog. Apparently some backpackers were hiking on Santa Catalina island off the coast of southern California when they encountered a herd of Bison that roam the island. They were about 20 feet away and one of the Bison charged. It gored one of the hikers in the thigh as he was running away and the impact broke his pelvic bone. Some other hikers provided first aid and he 
was air lifted to shore for treatment. Something tells me 20 feet is a little too close. Not sure on all the details, but it seems like you’d notice the Bison before you got that close to them. “Oh hey, wow, I almost stepped on that 6 foot tall, furry, stinky creature with 2 foot long horns. I should watch where I walk.”
Entry Filed under: General, Outdoor News
2 Comments Add your own
1. catalina island californi&hellip | May 28th, 2008
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2. allison | January 5th, 2009
Yeah, you’d think you’d notice a bison before you were 20 feet from it. But, without the gorey part, I had this very same experience near Two Harbors on Catalina last spring. I was coming down a trail through a small oak woods, and popped out onto a road just as a cantankerous male bison popped out of the thicket onto the road from the other side. I’d estimate there was less than 12 feet between us. The first I knew he was there was his stinky snorty huffing and woolly hump. He made some threatening moves, but after what seemed like forever, he went away, stinking and snorting still. I’ve hiked in bison country frequently (Yellowstone, Black Hills, etc), and would never approach a bison closely ever, but there is the occasional accidental circumstance that puts people and crabby bison too close together. By the way, my guess is that he never heard, saw, or smelled me until the moment I saw him. We were both terrified.
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