Two people now share an unusual bond — that they have both been gored by bison at the same state park.
During a trail run in June, Kyler Bourgeous, 30, was brutally gored by a bison at Utah’s Antelope Island State Park. Just months after recovering, his date, Kayleigh Davis, 22, met the same fate when he brought her to watch the sunset in the same park.
The attack on Davis was only the second at the park this year, after Bourgeous, who told the Washington Post he was surprised that something so unusual could happen.
“I generally am not superstitious, but I have this weird feeling that the bison there really don’t like me,” Bourgeous said.
The 42-square-mile park is home to hundreds of bison, but attacks are a rare occurrence, usually instigated by people approaching them. The couple did not provoke the animals in either of the attacks, however.
Davis was walking ahead of Bourgeos when the bison charged, flipping her in the air and leaving her with a badly cut leg and a broken ankle. She said she tried to play dead and not make any noise after the initial charge.
“He was hanging over me, sniffing me for a minute, and he was digging like he was about to charge again,” she recalled.
Davis was airlifted to the hospital, where she was treated.
The incident is similar to Bourgeous’ attack. In June he had been walking to a trail that leads to the highest peak in the park, a trek he says he has done more than 100 times before. When he approached the summit, he noticed two bison, and although he tried to run away, one of them was already charging.
The beast flung him in the air with its horns piercing his hip and armpit. After falling to the group the bison then trampled him. Bourgeous also attempted to remain as calm as possible as to not provoke further attacks.
“You can’t outrun bison,” he said. “It’s just hovering there, waiting for you to move, and it will finish you off if you do.”
Two people nearby were able to get help and a rescue helicopter took him to the hospital where he recovered for a few days.
Bourgeous and Davis actually met online while he was recovering, with her breaking the ice by asking about his attack. He said after the second attack he isn’t sure whether he’ll be returning to the park.
