Tourists watch bison boil to death in mistaken 'great photo opportunity'

In a harrowing incident at Yellowstone National Park, tourists could only watch in horror as a bison was left to perish after tumbling into a scalding hot spring. The unfortunate beast met its end last week when it wandered into the lethal waters of Midway Geyser Basin close to Old Faithful, according to the park service.

With temperatures reaching a searing 88C at Grand Prismatic, and the boiling point at the park's elevated altitude being approximately 93 degrees, survival was tragically not an option for the stricken animal.

"There were two bison standing there," recounted eyewitness Louise Howard to CBS News. "I thought it was a great photo opportunity."

The situation took a devastating turn when one bison moved nearer to the spring and seemingly dipped into a less deep section before hastily retreating. Barely half a minute later, the creature ventured forth but lost its footing on the edge of the Grand Prismatic Spring, resulting in its fall.

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"As hard as it tried, it couldn't get out," lamented Howard, who documented the gut-wrenching final moments, subsequently broadcasting them on social platforms

While grim, such events are not uncommon, with animals often succumbing to the park's thermal features, explained Michael Poland, head scientist at Yellowstone Volcano Observatory to CBS News.

"There is one pool (in the Lower Geyser Basin) called Skeleton Pool," he clarified. "What made this a little bit different is that it happened in summer, during the day, at one of the most popular tourist areas in the whole park."

He further explained that the bison was somewhat fortunate as it met its end "fairly quickly," due to the extreme heat. He described how the bison thrashed about so violently that it moved into an even hotter area of the Grand Prismatic, resulting in a quicker than usual death.

Poland debunked rumours suggesting that the water's acidity was the cause of the animal's death, reports the Mirror US.

"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," Poland explained.

This incident occurred during Yellowstone's bustling tourist season, which has seen several accidents involving tourists being gored by buffalos in recent months.

Earlier this month, a 30-year-old from Randolph, New Jersey, received treatment for minor injuries after being gored around 9.45am on Tuesday in the Old Faithful area, according to a statement from the park.

Last year, at least two people were gored by bison in Yellowstone, including an 83-year-old woman from South Carolina who was seriously injured. In 2023, a bison gored an Arizona woman in the park.