Bison Attack: Utah Man Provokes Animal, Higher Numbers of Bison Killed by Hunters this Year

A man in Utah's Antelope Island was reportedly attacked by a 1,500-pound bison after witnesses said he provoked the animal.

The man appeared to be uninjured after he was slammed, but he "is very, very, very lucky that he wasn't killed," assistant park manager John Sullivan, according to KSL TV.

"The [bison] had gone through the gate section that's located real close to where he got hit and looked like he was going to run off the field," said Wayne Ebenroth of Boise, a witness of the incident according to KSL TV.

He continued that the man, who was not identified "had to have done something to catch the [bison's] attention, because that's when he turned around and decided to pay him a visit."

Elaborating further, Ebenroth said the bison "just was not comfortable with how close he was hanging out with him."

Park officials decided not to cite the man so as to not add "insult to injury," the station said.

More bison migrating from Yellowstone National Park have also been  killed this year than in the previous decade, with the numbers driven by strong participation from American Indians who harvest the animals under longstanding treaty rights.

Roughly 250 bison have been killed since last fall after leaving Yellowstone for low-elevation winter range in Montana.