The grandfather seen being thrown into the air by a bison at Yellowstone National Park is recovering after surgery for a severely broken leg.
Carl McDaniel, 65, suffered four breaks in his femur near his hip when the bison struck him Friday evening at Bridge Bay Campground. Cowboy State Daily identified him by his full name, Carl Ison-McDaniel, and reported that he lives in Kendall, Washington.
McDaniel underwent surgery on Sunday and was able to stand by Monday. He told CNN that he would spend the following days in physical therapy as he works toward walking again.
“It was not as catastrophic as it could have been,” McDaniel told CNN.
Cowboy State Daily reported that his condition had improved from critical to serious and that he was expected to recover. McDaniel also posted a brief message online Sunday thanking people for their concern and saying he was OK.
The frightening encounter was captured on video Friday evening by photographer Mike MacLeod.
He Tried to Draw the Bison Away From His Grandson
McDaniel was visiting Yellowstone with his 13-year-old grandson as part of a yearly trip the two take together.
The pair went for a walk after dinner and encountered a large bison rolling in the dirt. McDaniel said they were about 100 yards away, four times Yellowstone’s required minimum distance of 25 yards.
They took several pictures and continued walking. McDaniel said a passing truck then honked its horn, apparently in an attempt to make the bison move. The available video does not contain audio, so the reported horn remains part of McDaniel’s account rather than something independently confirmed by the recording.
McDaniel said the bison became agitated and began running toward them.
“There was little time to decide what to do,” he told CNN.
McDaniel instructed his grandson to run in one direction while he went the other way in an attempt to draw the animal away from the child.
The bison followed McDaniel through a group of trees before catching him. It struck him with its head and sent him flying into the air.
Video Shows Bison Chasing and Throwing Man
Warning: The video shows a man being struck and thrown by a bison. Video courtesy of Newsflare Limited.
Bison Stood Over Him After the Fall
McDaniel landed hard and was unable to move. He said the bison remained directly over him but did not stomp or gore him.
“He could have stomped on me, he could have gored me, he could have done almost anything to take my life, and he did not do so,” McDaniel said.
Photographer Mike MacLeod, who recorded the attack, feared that the animal was about to strike McDaniel again.
MacLeod stopped filming and ran toward the bison while yelling and attempting to appear larger. Other people joined him, and the animal eventually moved away.
Bystanders then rushed to help McDaniel. A nurse began tending to his injured leg while another person supported his head until Yellowstone emergency personnel arrived.
The National Park Service confirmed that its medical personnel responded and transported McDaniel to a nearby hospital. He was later taken to a hospital in Bozeman, Montana, where doctors determined that his femur had been broken in four places.
Witness Says the Pair Did Not Provoke the Animal
MacLeod said McDaniel and his grandson had maintained a considerable distance from the bison and began leaving when they noticed it getting up.
The photographer also said the animal had been running through the campground and mock-charging people, tents and picnic tables before McDaniel and his grandson arrived. The pair apparently did not know about its earlier behavior.
McDaniel’s grandson later reviewed the video because he was concerned that something they had done might have caused the attack.
MacLeod said he reassured the boy that the encounter was not his fault.
“It’s not his fault,” MacLeod told Cowboy State Daily. “You can tell from the very beginning. That was a really, really angry bison.”
The exact reason the bison charged remains unknown. McDaniel described the passing truck’s horn, while MacLeod reported that the animal had already been behaving aggressively before the grandfather and grandson encountered it.
Second Reported Yellowstone Bison Injury This Year
This was the second reported bison injury at Yellowstone in 2026.
A 12-year-old visitor was injured near Mud Volcano on June 26 and transported to a hospital. The National Park Service said that incident remained under investigation.
Yellowstone requires visitors to remain at least 25 yards away from bison and other large animals. Park officials warn that bison can run three times faster than people and have injured more visitors at Yellowstone than any other animal.
Visitors should never honk at bison or drive aggressively toward them. When a bison charges, Yellowstone advises people to move away, use bear spray if the animal continues following, and seek cover behind a vehicle or nearby trees.
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