NEED TO KNOW
- A bison died at Yellowstone National Park when it seemingly stumbled into a hot spring of “nearly” boiling water on June 21
- The animal fell at the edge of Grand Prismatic Spring near Old Faithful, one eyewitness said, adding, “As hard as it tried, it couldn’t get out”
- “That boiling water will eat away at the organic material, the tissues, and eventually there will just be some bone [leftover],” said the scientist-in-charge at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory
A bison has died after it appeared to fall into a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park.
Park visitors were watching the Grand Prismatic Spring near Old Faithful on June 21, when the mammal appeared to stumble into the hot spring. The scientist-in-charge at Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, Michael Poland, confirmed to NBC News that temperatures there can reach 192 degrees Fahrenheit.
Witness Louise Howard, who was visiting the area from Colorado, told CBS News that she “thought it was a great photo opportunity” when two bison were standing near the spring. However, she told the outlet that the one bison then stepped into a shallow part, jumped out and later stumbled at the edge, before falling in.
“As hard as it tried, it couldn’t get out,” Howard said, adding on social media — where she shared images of the ordeal — that the bison tried “its best” to get to safety. “I have a video of it coming up to take its last breath, but it’s a tough watch,” she wrote.
A spokesperson for Yellowstone National Park did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Saturday, June 28.
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According to Poland, who reviewed footage of the incident, the bison appeared to get too close to the spring before it stumbled and later fell into a hotter part of Grand Prismatic, dying “fairly quickly.”
He told NBC News that the animal likely boiled to death. (Yellowstone’s boiling point is 200 degrees Fahrenheit.)
“This bison carcass is basically sitting in a pool of nearly boiling water, and … that boiling water will eat away at the organic material, the tissues, and eventually there will just be some bone [leftover],” Poland said.
The scientist added that an animal falling into hot springs isn’t entirely uncommon, and it’s “possible” the bison fell in from the crust surrounding the pool breaking. “But I can’t say for sure,” he told NBC News.
Katie Hirtzel, who saw the bison’s remains in the springs hours later, told USA Today that the scene was “quiet” and “eerie.”
“I couldn’t really tell what it was at first,” she said. “I honestly found the whole experience so beautiful and inspiring to be able to see that raw power right in front of my face.”
The tourist, who was camping alongside her husband and their 13-year-old son, added that the bison’s remains were there the following morning. As Hirtzel explained, she hopes rangers will leave the animal carcass where the mammal died, as part of showing the “circle of life.”
“My family and everybody else who was there was kind of taking in the moment, realizing that it was something really special that we walked on,” she told CBS News.
National Park Service rangers will likely leave the animal to decay naturally, Poland told USA Today. Over time, the water will break down the animal’s flesh and tissue, leaving only its skeleton behind, he added.
“We know animals aren’t immune to making mistakes,” Poland said. “This probably happens more often than we would know because a lot of times this won’t be observed… that this happened at Grand Prismatic right during the summer when people are watching is a unique event.”
He also reiterated, per CBS News, that guests at Yellowstone are encouraged to follow rules and stay on boardwalks, explaing that “the trails are there [for a reason].”
“We’re in their environment,” Poland said of animals. “It’s a wild place. The landscape is wild too.”
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