Bison Tosses Biker Chick Like a Rag Doll

This appears to be the summer for bison attacks.  The most dramatic I’ve seen is the one from South Dakota where a woman gets tossed like a rag doll.  It happened at a state park and not far from the legendary motorcycle rally in Sturgis.  The woman appears to have gotten too close to a calf.  This demand for selfies is getting dangerous.  A couple of weeks ago I saw a video from Mexico where a black bear is pawing a young woman.  She took a selfie of the experience.

Bison may look cute and cuddly (to some) but they’re about as big as a full sized pickup truck.  Thirty years ago I was talking with a Sheriff who was tasked with rounding up a bison herd that wandered onto an Interstate.  He was cautioning the public when he told me, “There are more deaths in western parks from buffalo encounters than anything else”.  “Too many people want to commune with my friend the buffalo,” he added.

The herd he was tracking left the highway and an hour later I was driving down a country road when I found them.  I opened the driver side door and used it as a buffer as I radioed work and explained I’d come across the wayward animals.  Suddenly a guy came up behind me and hit his horn.  Then he told me to stop blocking the road.  I pointed ahead and he went silent.  He turned his car around and sped off in another direction.

About a week or so ago I was at the Oasis near Magic Valley Medical Center and met a group of bikers on their way to Sturgis.  These are people who are independent and tough but not strong enough to tangle with a bison.  You can see the video of the attack below.  Caution:  It’s not pretty and she ended up in a hospital in South Dakota.