A man driving through Yellowstone National Park had a scary encounter with a bison, and dashcam video captured it all.
Kyle Weber was driving through Yellowstone in Wyoming on Oct. 8 when he came across a bison standing in the road.
“Usually … I just stop and wait for them to continue on their way," Weber told Storyful. "Pulling up to this one, he already seemed a bit agitated, so I figured I’d wait."
Weber's suspicions were correct. Instead of crossing the road, the bison did something unexpected.
Video captured the terrifying moment. Weber saw the bison in the road and began slowing down. The area was dark, and he kept his headlights on while he waited for the animal to continue on its way. Instead, the bison stood still for a few moments, then
inched closer before charging at Weber's truck.
It headbutted the truck once, then ran down the road away from the vehicle.
"Luckily, all he damaged was the side marker of my headlight and a dent in the fender,” Weber said.
Watch bison charge at truck
Bison garner attention throughout 2026
Bison aren't uncommon at some U.S. national parks, but the wild animals can be destructive and dangerous.
On Oct. 5, visitors at Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming, about seven miles south of Yellowstone, were mesmerized by a herd of bison stampeding through the park, USA TODAY previously reported. Video captured the bison running through and jumping over wire and fencing.
Earlier in the year, a lone bison went viral for a different reason.
In July, a visitor at Yellowstone captured video of a bison attacking and seriously injuring a 65-year-old grandfather, according to USA TODAY.
Video of the incident shows the bison charging near trees before going after the man, who was seen running away from the animal. But the bison caught up and kept charging before launching the man into the air. The man, who was at the park with his grandchild, was hospitalized due to his injuries.
Before the incident, the man and his grandchild were watching the bison when it began chasing them. His grandchild was not harmed in the incident.
The bison is a symbol of the West
While bison can be dangerous, they are synonymous with America. The animal is the national mammal of the United States and is seen as a symbol of the West.
Males, known as bulls, can be 5.5 to 6.5 feet tall, while females, also called cows, are 4 to 5 feet tall, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo. Adult animals can weigh between 1,800 and 2,400 pounds.
The mammal was once known as a keystone species of the Great Plains ecosystem. That means the health of the ecosystem greatly depended on the bison, and they were seen as "pillars of community stability," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
In 2026, the bison population sits at 500,000, and they are seen as a "near threatened" species and "vulnerable" to further population decline by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The American bison can largely be found in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Utah and Alaska.
Before 1800, the bison population was estimated to range from 30 to 100 million, according to the National Zoo. But by 1890, fewer than 1,000 bison remained in North America.
Drought, overhunting, the displacement of Native Americans and settlers moving to the West greatly contributed to the near-extinction of the bison, the National Park Service explained on its website. The American government also killed many bison in an effort to "destroy the livelihood of Plains Indians" during the 1800s, when settlers moved to the area, according to the zoo.
Julia Gomez is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers space phenomena, scientific studies and natural disasters. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bison charges man's truck in terrifying moment at Yellowstone
