Not so gentle giants: How to avoid a conflict with bison

Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake has one of largest and oldest bison herds in the United States.

During the winter, about 500-550 of the big, shaggy-haired animals roam the island. That number swells to more than 700 in the spring after females have their calves. Due to the large population, it is quite common to see bison on the island.

There have been multiple instances when visitors to the island were charged and injured by bison, though those incidents are rare. In the past 10 years, about 4 million people have visited Antelope Island State Park. There have five reported incidents involving visitors and bison, according to the Utah Department of Natural Resources.

In 2020, Larry Adams, an experienced 55-year-old trail hiker, died from what appeared to be an encounter with a bison. In a Facebook post the year before, Adams expressed his love for Antelope Island and urged people to “be wise in the outdoors” and consider their impact to prevent encounters with bison.

“I’ve encountered hundreds of bison over the years, I saw them in advance of my ‘encounter’ with them, and gave them the respect they deserve,” he wrote. “I pass more and more runners/hikers these days that are deeply engrossed in their music, book, podcast or else and barely recognize my passing. How do you protect yourself in the outdoors from a two thousand pound plus animal?”

In 2019, Kayleigh Davis described how a bison charged and “flipped me up in the air” while on a trail run on the island with a friend. While she lay motionless on the ground, the animal was “hanging over me, sniffing me for a minute, and he was digging like he was about to charge again.” Davis suffered a broken ankle and a cut on her calf.

About bison

“Antelope Island State Park is a popular recreational destination for outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy hiking, camping and boating on the Great Salt Lake or seeing the wildlife found there,” according to Antelope Island Park manager Doranne Pittz.

“Anytime there is a dangerous interaction with wildlife, it’s usually because the person got too close. People often try to get closer for pictures, and it never ends well. Please give these animals plenty of space.”

Bison can also be found in the Henry Mountains in southern Utah and in the Book Cliffs in eastern Utah.

“There is a common misconception that because big game animals like bison and moose aren’t predators that they aren’t dangerous,” Utah Division of Wildlife Resources once-in-a-lifetime species coordinator Rusty Robinson said in a press release. “In reality, both of these species can be quite aggressive if you get too close.”

A male bison weighs up to 2,000 pounds, while a female weighs up to 1,000 pounds. Bison may live 12–15 years, a few live as long as 20 years They feed primarily on grasses and sedges.

Safety tips

Wildlife Resources offer these tips on how to avoid making a bison aggressive:

• If you see a bison and it stops what it is doing and starts paying attention to you, you are too close and should slowly back away. 
• If a bison is in the middle of the road, wait for it to pass. Do not get out of your vehicle.
• If a bison is on the side of the road, feel free to slowly drive past it. But again, stay inside your vehicle.
• If you see a bison in the distance, do not walk across the rangeland to get closer to it. Take your photos from a safe distance.
• If you are hiking and a bison is close to you or on the trail, you should either back away and return the way you came, or leave the trail and give the animal a very wide berth when passing it. It is OK to go off the trail if your safety is at risk. 

There are trail restrictions on Antelope Island in the backcountry, but safety trumps those rules, Pittz said.

“If you are in the backcountry hiking and you come across any wildlife that’s in your path, we urge you to travel around it, even if that means leaving the trail. Whatever distance you think you should remain from the animal, double it — that’s how far away you should stay from bison," she said.

Yellowstone National Park bison encounters

Bison incidents also occur in Yellowstone National Park in neighboring Wyoming. Yellowstone is the only place in the country where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. Park officials estimated the 2025 population at about 5,300.

Last year, a 47-year-old Florida man was gored by a bison after he approached it too closely. He sustained minor injuries.

There were two reported incidents of people injured by bison in the park in 2024 and one in 2023.

Park officials said bison will defend their space when threatened and have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal. They are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans. It’s also advisable to stay well away from calves because their mothers are very protective.

Yellowstone also said visitors have a responsibility to stay more than 25 yards away from all large animals — bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes — and at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves.