A 65-year-old Washington man from Whatcom County was thrown into the air by an agitated male bison last Friday at Yellowstone National Park. KIRO 7 spoke with the photographer who captured the incident and learned about what led up to the dramatic footage. <\/p>\n
Mike Macleod, a professional photographer, told KIRO 7 he was already at the campsite where the attack was taking place, photographing, when he first noticed the animal acting erratically. Then, he says he switched to video.<\/p>\n
According to Macleod, minutes before his video shows the Bison throwing 65-year-old Carl McDaniel into the air, the animal had approached a group of college-aged campers, but they moved away quickly enough to avoid it. <\/p>\n
Macleod said that soon after initially spotting McDaniel and his grandson, the bison charged, tossing McDaniel into the air with its horns. <\/p>\n
It was then that Macleod decided to take action, he told KIRO 7. He ran towards the bison, hoping he could cause a distraction that would prevent the animal from harming McDaniel any further. <\/p>\n
Macleod admitted that at 5 feet 5 inches, he wasn\u2019t exactly going to intimidate a bison. <\/p>\n
Marc Heinzman, Conservation Manager at NW Trek and Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, explained that interactions between humans and wildlife can be unpredictable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s never that firm barrier between you and the animals, and even if you\u2019re doing all the right things, sometimes the animals can make the wrong choices,\u201d Heinzman said. <\/p>\n