Tourists watched in horror as a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park boiled a bison alive on Saturday, The Cowboy State Daily reported.
Around 7:30 a.m. local time, onlookers saw the bison walking near Grand Prismatic Spring, a thermal pool whose water temperature can reach a toasty 189 F, according to IFL Science.
“It took a few steps into a shallow area to the right of the pool, it turned around and stepped out very quickly,” Louise Howard, who witnessed the incident, wrote on Facebook.
“It stood for a moment, then turned back towards the spring and stepped into a deeper section then couldn’t get out despite trying its best. I have a video of it coming up to take its last breath but it’s a tough watch,” Howard wrote.
After it died, the bison’s carcass reportedly floated at the shallows of the pool.
Another Facebook user posted photos and video of the dead, beached bison.
We’re sure it comes as no surprise, but Grand Prismatic is the most photographed thermal feature in Yellowstone.#YellowstoneLive pic.twitter.com/5jHwqd6aWP
— National Geographic TV (@NatGeoTV) June 27, 2019
“Could someone help me identify the deceased animal I encountered at Grand Prismatic Spring this evening?” Katie Hirtzel wrote. “Was it a massive bear, as I initially suspected? This would be my first time seeing a bear in the wild.
Have you ever visited Yellowstone National Park?
“I took a moment to contemplate the story this scene might tell, and the inevitability of life and death. While a bit existential, it made for one of my most memorable experiences in nature,” Hirtzel’s Post read.
It’s not just wildlife meeting its demise in Yellowstone’s hot springs.
“There are occasional reports from observers of wildlife dying in hot springs,” said Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
“I can’t tell you exactly how many incidents there are a year (likely many that happen go unwitnessed), but it’s not at all unprecedented,” Poland said in an email, according to The State.
Remember, look but don’t touch! Water in Grand Prismatic Spring can reach 160°F, causing severe burns and even death. pic.twitter.com/5jbMR1qnUM
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) September 14, 2024
Poland told The Cowboy State Daily that many people have a wrong assumption about the hot springs in Yellowstone.
“The misconception that a lot of people have is that all of the hot springs in Yellowstone are acidic,” Poland said. “If you touch the water or fall in, you will dissolve because the acid will eat you away. But that’s not the case.”
Grand Prismatic Spring, like many of Yellowstone’s hot springs, are neutral on the pH scale, meaning they aren’t acidic, Poland said.
“People think of the pools like alien blood or something like that,” he said. “That’s not the way the pools work. The big hot springs are almost all neutral, but they’re boiling. That’s what causes harm to people and animals.”
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