The bison in Yellowstone National Park stumbled upon the waters of the epic Prism Springs conflict, causing death as tourists see during the park’s busiest season.
A Yellowstone spokesperson said the bison fell into a hot spring in the Midway Geiser Basin, near the old followers early Saturday.
Michael Poland, a scientist at the Yellowstone Volcanic Observatory and a geophysicist at the US Geological Survey, says it is not entirely clear how or why the animals ended up in hot springs.
However, after watching the video of the accident, Poland bumped into the bison too close, stumbling further into the water, falling into the hotter part of the Grump rhythm, causing its death.
Poland says the bison died “quite fast,” and he dispels rumors that the spring water is very acidic and burns animals.
According to Poland, most hot springs are actually neutral, but the temperatures are very extreme so bison is likely to die.
The 34-year-old man from Colorado was charged with bison in Yellowstone National Park in 2022.
The Grump rhythm is about 300 feet wide, and the temperature reaches 192 degrees Fahrenheit, Poland said. Yellowstone has a boiling point of 200 degrees Fahrenheit due to its high altitudes.
“This bison corpse is basically sitting in a pool of almost boiling water, and the boiling water is just organic matter, tissue and ultimately bones,” he said.
It’s not the most unusual event, Poland said. In many cases, animals walk along the edge of the hot springs. They can fall as the crust surrounding the pool is thin and can break with sufficient weight.
“That could have happened,” he said. “It’s probably a little shelves [the bison] It was standing collapsed and exposed [it] For more hot water. ”
Poland added: “But I certainly can’t say it.”
He said he had never heard of anything that happened in the Grump rhythm before. However, scientists know that it happens at least from time to time, but the animal skeletons can be found in hot springs around the park, so much of it is in the backcountry away from tourist activity.
What makes this case unique is that Bison died in the spring, Yellowstone’s biggest and most touristy popular during the busy summer season.
Katie Hiltzel was visiting Yellowstone National Park and witnessed the death of Bison, she said on Facebook. She said watching the episode was “incredibly powerful and moving.”
“It was amazing to see the nature of life and the ring of life before us,” Hiltzel said. “It would be interesting to see how the park decides to move forward as scavengers are drawn to such a populated area.”
Poland said it views the park as a warning story for people visiting it. He urged visitors to stay on the boardwalk – it was there for a reason and not too close.
“It’s amazing to go and visit these places in Yellowstone. They’re spectacular,” he said. “But this is why staying on the boardwalk is so important.”
This story first appeared on nbcnews.com. More from NBC News:
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