Bison attack survivor gives no-nonsense interview from his hospital bed

By RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 18:18, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 18:22, 20 July 2026 A grandfather who was violently hurled into the air by a bison at Yellowstone National Park spoke out about the harrowing ordeal from his hospital bed. Carl McDaniel, 65, of Washington State, was attacked by the agitated bison at Bridge Bay Compound in the Wyoming section of the national park on July 10. Heart-stopping video of the attack showed the bull bison becoming frustrated and charging at McDaniel, chasing him through the trees. Once the animal caught up to the grandfather, it hooked him with one of its horns and aggressively flung him into the air. McDaniel broke his femur - the strongest bone in the body - in four places near his hip in the assault. One week later, McDaniel gave a no-nonsense interview about the attack from his hospital bed at Bozeman Health.  'We saw the bison, and he was down. He wasn't showing aggression or anything like that,' the grandfather said. 'They move faster than you could ever imagine. It picked a target. That target happened to be me.' Carl McDaniel, 65, spoke out from his hospital bed at Bozeman Health after being attacked by a bison Heart-stopping video of the attack showed the bull bison becoming frustrated and charging at McDaniel, chasing him through the trees McDaniel explained that his family had finished eating dinner and he was out on a walk with his grandson when the attack occurred. He told his grandson to get to safety and tried to run from the bison himself, but it continued to chase after him. 'He just kept coming, and he was more aggressive, and as soon as he got off that tree he launched me in the air,' McDaniel said. He added that he is grateful to have survived the attack and believed his injuries could have been worse.  'Even though I was on the ground, he could've stomped me, he could've gored me, he could've done anything,' the grandfather said. It remains unclear what may have provoked the beast to attack the grandfather, but it came amid bison mating season when the males of the species have increased testosterone levels. The animal had already been roaming the campground and charging at other campers - including a group of teenage boys who were able to run away from the area - in the moments before McDaniel and his grandson passed by. Officials told TMZ they planned no 'management action' against the animal, suggesting that the large bison would not be put down. McDaniel explained that his family had finished eating dinner and he was out on a walk with his grandson when the attack occurred The national park rarely intervenes with nature and allows it to take its own course, unless a human life is at stake or they have been directed by Congress, its policy said. 'Yellowstone is not a zoo or an animal park; it is the wilderness home to countless creatures living in their own environment on their own terms,' its website read.