Bison Boiled to Death in Yellowstone Hot Spring as Tourists Watched

A bison died in boiling water at Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring while visitors watched and filmed.

The animal encountered water heated to 192°F — just below boiling temperature — and quickly perished after stumbling into deeper areas while trying to escape.

On the morning of Saturday, June 21, visitors at Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park observed a bison slip into a shallow part of the hot spring.

Visitor Louise Howard captured the moment on camera and posted it to Facebook as a cautionary tale.

The Fatal Stumble

Louise Howard witnessed one of the bison step into a shallow part before quickly jumping out, and then in about 30 seconds the bison stumbled at the edge of the spring and fell in.

Howard had video of the bison coming to the surface for its last breath but described it as "a tough watch."

Katie Hirtzel, who was completing a daylong hike with her husband and 13-year-old son, witnessed the death and called it "incredibly powerful and moving."

She said it was "amazing to witness raw nature and the circle of life in front of our eyes like that."

Why Officials Won't Remove the Body

Yellowstone National Park officials decided not to remove the carcass because such work would be dangerous and could cause extensive damage to the colorful bacterial mats that give Grand Prismatic Spring its name.

The incident occurred in Yellowstone's Midway Geyser Basin.

Animals Make Fatal Mistakes Too

An elk calf died while struggling to extract itself from mud pots in West Thumb Geyser Basin several years ago.

In 2022, University of California at Berkeley researchers found an elk skeleton in Doublet Pool, located on Geyser Hill near Old Faithful, when they put a camera into the spring as part of a study of hydrothermal activity.

Animal skeletons are visible in many hot springs throughout the park, including Gentian Pool, Ojo Caliente, and the aptly named Skeleton Pool.

Katie Hirtzel and her family had been discussing "how amazing it is that these animals know how to navigate this crazy landscape" just before witnessing the bison's death.

Since 1872, deaths related to hot springs are more than double those from bears and bison combined — 22 people have lost their lives due to scalding.