CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A pamphlet drawing of a man being gored and flung into the air graphically warns tourists in Yellowstone National Park not to get too close to bison: They’re wild animals and can be very dangerous.

Rangers distribute the flier to people as they enter the park, but some visitors still aren’t getting the message. Bison have gored two people in the Old Faithful area within the past three weeks.

Those bison horns aren’t just for digging for tasty vegetation, as an Australian tourist learned the hard way Tuesday. Lest others not get the message, graphic fliers are being handed out by the National Park Service.

A pamphlet distributed by the National Park Service to people entering Yellowstone National Park warns visitors not to get too close to bison, also known as buffalo, which can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and sprint three times faster than a person. The Associated Press

FILE - This Jan. 19, 2006 file photo Mounted Yellowstone National Park wranglers haze stray park bison off private land about seven miles north of Gardiner, Mont. A pamphlet drawing of a man being gored and flung into the air graphically warns tourists as they enter Yellowstone National Park not to get too close to bison, they’re wild animals and can be very dangerous. Rangers distribute the flyer to people as they enter the park but some visitors still aren’t getting the message. Bison have gored two people in the Old Faithful area within just the past three weeks. (Garrett Cheen/The Livingston Enterprise via AP, File)

The latest attack Tuesday was an especially violent scene, as a bison charged a 62-year-old Australian man and flung him into the air several times.

A male American bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds, bigger than a Smart car. They have horns that aren’t just for grubbing around for tasty shoots.

Bison often behave much like cattle, lumbering about and lazing in the sunshine. But when they get a mind to, they can run up to 40 mph, or almost twice as fast as Usain Bolt’s world-record speed in the 100-meter dash.

“I just don’t think people realize how fast bison move. They’re big animals, but they move quickly. And so when a bison becomes agitated, it doesn’t take him long to cover that short distance,” Yellowstone spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said.

The unidentified Australian was flown to a hospital where he was treated for serious injuries and released Tuesday night.

The attack happened as a group of people crowded near the bison as it lay on grass near a paved trail. The man was taking photos of the shaggy beast from just a few feet, but the whole crowd was much too close, park officials said.

Any less than 75 feet is unsafe, they warn.

Yellowstone’s summer tourist season began a month ago and already the park has had some dicey run-ins between wildlife and tourists. A recent videotape showed camera-clicking tourists scrambling for their vehicles as a black bear and her cubs tried to cross a bridge in Yellowstone and began running in their direction.

Then on May 16, a bison at Old Faithful gored a 16-year-old girl from Taiwan as she posed for a picture near the animal. She also was treated at a hospital for serious injuries.

Bears have killed at least seven people in Yellowstone since the park was established in 1872.

But bison – and elk, especially the big-antlered males during mating season each fall – are responsible more injuries to people, at least a couple every year.

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