Yellowstone Bison Charges Mechanic's Pickup Truck

A bull bison damaged a seasonal mechanic's pickup truck after he stopped to avoid hitting the animal on a dark road in Yellowstone National Park at 2:45 a.m. Thursday near Mud Volcano. Kyle Weber was driving his Ford Ranger south from Canyon Village toward Fishing Bridge after finishing a summer job with Yellowstone Park Service Stations when the animal charged his stationary vehicle.

The collision dented the truck's hood and bumper and broke a side marker light. Weber's dashboard camera recorded the encounter, which occurred as he waited for the bison to leave the road.

Weber told Cowboy State Daily that he first spotted the animal while rounding a curve through a wooded area. He braked and remained stopped, expecting the bison to continue walking.

Instead, the bull suddenly rushed the pickup and struck its left side, jolting the vehicle and pushing it backward.

"I definitely got jolted in that thing," Weber said. "I knew they hit hard, but that was pretty rough. It pushed my truck back at least a foot and a half."

The bison ran away after hitting the truck. Weber continued driving and later encountered the same animal farther along the road, where he maintained his distance while following behind it.

Weber said he waited until the bison moved off the roadway and onto a pullout before passing it with a wide berth. He explained that he wanted to avoid giving the animal another opportunity to approach the truck.

Although the collision left visible damage, Weber said the headlights and other equipment remained functional. The front bumper now scrapes against a wheel during sharp turns.

"My wheel scrapes against the bumper when I do sharp turns, but the headlight and everything else works fine," Weber said. "Not as bad as it could have been, but still not great."

Weber, who graduated from a technical school in the spring, plans to repair the truck himself rather than file an insurance claim. He expects to replace the bumper and side marker light.

Stephen Borgmier, Weber's coworker and the manager of the Fishing Bridge station for Yellowstone Park Service Stations, said encounters with bison on park roads are common, particularly at night. Borgmier recently completed his ninth season with the organization, which employs seasonal mechanics to help tourists whose cars and recreational vehicles develop problems inside the park.

Borgmier described a separate encounter about three weeks earlier when he and his wife were driving away from Fishing Bridge in darkness. Several bison entered the road, and one bull stopped in the vehicle's headlights.

He said the animal began moving again after his wife dimmed the lights. Borgmier suggested that bright headlights might have contributed to the Thursday collision, although he could not confirm what triggered the charge.

"He seemed blinded by the headlights," Borgmier said. "I don't know, but maybe the headlights are what aggravated the bison into charging."

Bison can be difficult to spot after dark because their dark coats blend into poorly lit surroundings, especially near curves. Unlike deer and elk, their eyes do not reflect headlights in the same way because they lack a reflective layer at the back of their eyes.

According to the source report, Yellowstone's speed limit is 45 mph across most of the park, although park officials encourage motorists to drive more slowly in many areas. Bison frequently cause traffic congestion when they occupy roadways.

A bison was fatally struck by a vehicle in Yellowstone on Thursday night, less than 24 hours after Weber's collision.

Borgmier said the damage to Weber's truck appeared largely superficial and doubted the young mechanic would submit an insurance claim. He noted that many seasonal workers are students who rely on their summer earnings.

"We're hoping it would help somebody else avoid the same situation in the future," Borgmier said. "Bison do own the roads in Yellowstone, and he found out the hard way."