Hiker Shares TikTok Video of Bison Goring Her

A hiker from Texas is lucky to be alive after being gored by a bison, and the clip of her attack is now going viral on TikTok. The Houston Chronicle reports on Rebecca Clark's ordeal last week during a solo trek in Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway, where she stumbled upon a few bison while hiking on a trail. "There you go, keep going. I don't want to deal with them. I just want to go by—come on, keep going," Clark can be heard saying in the video she's since posted online, showing the seemingly unaware animals grazing just a few feet away from her as she tries to sneak past. "I just want to get by, OK? Thank you, I appreciate it. I didn't want to go through the bushes again."

Then, suddenly, one of the bison turns, looks at her, and issues a menacing grunt. "Oh no," Clark is heard softly saying, right before the animal charges at her. "Oh s---!" Clark exclaims as she starts to run, before being overcome by the bison, which isn't seen on camera as it gores her. Clark isn't seen in the clip, either, but her pain-filled screams can be heard as she's attacked: "Oh oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" In an AMA clip after the fact, Clark notes that the bison rammed her in the back, gored her, and hurled her into a mesquite bush, where she lay for nearly an hour. Due to limited cellphone service, Clark couldn't get through to 911, but she was able to send messages to family and friends, who sent help.

Clark, who says she's recuperating and will be OK, is now posting the video as a warning to others. The clip had been viewed more than 2.1 million times as of Tuesday morning. In a TikTok caption, she writes: "I was charged and gored by a bison because I was too CLOSE to be passing them on a trailway." The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says there should be, at minimum, 50 yards—the length of half a football field—between humans and bison, North America's largest land animal, which needs "a lot more personal space" than people do, per My San Antonio. A good "rule of thumb," per the agency's website: "Stretch your arm out away from your face and give bison a thumbs up! Now close one eye. Can you cover the bison with your thumb? If not, you're too close!" (More bison stories.)