A Texas woman is counting her blessings after surviving a frightening and painful bison attack.
Rebecca Clark was hiking in Caprock Canyons State Park, located about 100 miles south of Amarillo, Texas, when she encountered a herd of bison standing near the trail. The woman began filming the bison as she crept by them, trying not to disturb the animals so she could continue her hike.
“I don’t want to deal with them,” she is heard saying to the camera. “I just want to go by, come on, keep going…I didn’t want to go through the bushes again.”
Just as it seems that she’s in the clear, one of the bulls turns her way and charges. Clark turns and begins to run, but it was too late. The camera is seen tumbling into a bush and Clark is heard screaming in pain.
Clark posted the video to TikTok along with a follow up clip where she provided an update on her situation. She told viewers that she called for help by phone and laid in the bushes waiting for help for roughly 50 minutes. She was taken from the park via helicopter to a hospital in Wichita Falls, Texas, approximately 170 miles away.
The bison at Caprock State Park are part of the Texas State Bison Herd.
The herd was started by American rancher Charles Goodnight and his wife Mary Ann in 1878. The bison roam more than 10,000 acres of the park and use the roadways to get around.
The park website says, “Since this is their home, remember that bison have the right of way!”
Visitors are encouraged to turn around and take another route if they encourage these massive animals while touring the park.
Thankfully, Clark survived the harrowing ordeal and is recovering from a “hole in [her] back and lots of stickers and thorns.”
Check out Rebecca Clark’s bison encounter in the video below.
@rebeccaclark Solo hiking at Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway in Texas. I was charged and gored by a bison because I was to CLOSE to be passing them on a trailway They are beautiful creatures protected by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) and are a part of the Texas State Bison Restoration Project where the park has restored the historic Charles Goodnight Bison herd (The Official Texas State Bison Herd) to a portion of its former range in the park. I am posting to support safety while enjoying Texas State Parks #TPWD #bisonetiquette101 #hikingsafety #llbean #chaos #rei ♬ dumb dumb – sped up – mazie