Don’t worry, the young girl was treated by emergency personnel, later taken to a clinic, and has since been released.

Now that we have ticked that box, let’s look at the quite extraordinary amount of airtime this nine-year-old from Florida manages.

The incident took place on Monday, after a group of tourists approached a bison in Yellowstone National Park. Officials say the group came within five to 10 feet of the animal, and remained that close for at least 20 minutes.

Even more idiotic than the tourists who thought they were rescuing a bison calf, and ended up signing its death warrant.

Here’s CBS News:

The incident occurred near Observation Point Trail, in the area of Old Faithful Geyser.

Injuries of tourists by bison and other wildlife occur regularly in Yellowstone, which gets about 4 million visitors annually. Last year, a California woman was gored by a bull bison in the park after a crowd of visitors got too close to the animal.

Perhaps she got off lightly, then.

Here’s the footage that has been doing the rounds:

America’s National Park Service (NPS) advises visitors should never be less than 25 yards from most wildlife, adding that it’s “illegal to willfully remain near or approach wildlife, including birds, within any distance that disturbs or displaces the animal”.

If you’re wondering about the power of a bison versus that of a buffalo, here’s a handy illustration of the latter’s strength.

[source:cbsnews]