(RNN) – Watch your step at Yellowstone National Park.
For the third time this week and fourth time in just over a month, a park visitor was attacked by wildlife.
On Wednesday, a bison gored 59-year-old Kim Hancock of Santa Rosa, CA, at Fountain Paint Pot in the Lower Geyser Basin.
“Hancock and a crowd of people approached within ten yards of the bison while walking along a boardwalk,” the National Park Service said.
“At one point, people were closer than 15 feet from the bison. When it crossed the boardwalk, the bison became agitated and charged the crowd, goring Hancock.”
Woman gored by bison after crowd gets too close: https://t.co/FOQRi3QrET. pic.twitter.com/v9IutGE5E1
— YellowstoneNPS (@YellowstoneNPS) June 7, 2018
Last month, a bison headbutted a 72-year-old woman, who came face-to-face with one of the hooved beasts along a trail near Old Faithful.
There have been two bison attacks so far in 2018. There was also one last year and five in 2015.
Earlier in the week, two women were injured by elk, one on Sunday and another on Tuesday. In both cases, a mama appeared to be protecting her baby.
“It’s very common for cow elk to aggressively defend newborn calves and hide them near buildings and cars,” the Park Service said.
All three women who were attacked this week were hospitalized.
Yellowstone offers this advice for visitors to the park:
“Animals in Yellowstone are wild and unpredictable, no matter how calm they appear to be. When an animal is near a trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, give it space.”
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