Headed to Antelope Island soon? Here's how to stay safe around bison

SYRACUSE — A northern Utah destination known for attracting thousands of locals and tourists each year for camping and soaking up all that nature has to offer also boasts the largest population of bison in the state.

Wildlife officials encourage people planning to visit Antelope Island State Park to savor the sights and sounds there, but also to be mindful and aware of the free-roaming bison herd. More than 600 bison, one of the oldest and largest publicly owned herds in the United States, are on the island during the spring and summer months, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

While an encounter can be quite the experience, in recent years, people getting too close to animals has resulted in unfortunate outcomes.

State officials say that over the past decade, among the roughly 4 million people who have visited Antelope Island State Park, there have been at least five reported incidents involving visitors and bison.

In August 2020, a Syracuse man died from his injuries after being gored by a bison on an Antelope Island trail, officials said.

Though incidents like that, or of someone being charged or injured by a bison, are pretty rare, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources says people should still exercise caution while the animals are nearby.

"Anytime there is a dangerous interaction with wildlife, it's usually because the person got too close," Antelope Island State Park Manager Doranne Pittz said in a statement. "People often try to get closer for pictures, and it never ends well. Please give these animals plenty of space."

Ally O'Rullian, public information officer for the Utah Division of State Parks, said one way to tell if they are keeping a proper distance from bison is to use their own thumb.

"If you hold your arm straight up in front of you and stick out your thumb, you should be able to cover the animal you're viewing with your thumb. If you can still see the animal from behind your thumb, back up, you're too close," she told KSL.

The agency listed several tips to keep in mind should anyone encounter a bison and avoid making it aggressive:

• If you see a bison and it stops what it is doing and starts paying attention to you, you are too close and should slowly back away.
• If a bison is in the middle of the road, wait for it to pass. Do not get out of your vehicle.
• If a bison is on the side of the road, feel free to slowly drive past it. But again, stay inside your vehicle.
• If you see a bison in the distance, do not walk across the rangeland to get closer to it. Take your photos from a safe distance.
• If you are hiking and a bison is close to you or on the trail, you should either back away and return the way you came or leave the trail and give the animal a very wide berth when passing it. It is OK to go off the trail if your safety is at risk.

Pittz said although the island has hiking trail restrictions in its backcountry, staying safe should be a person's first priority during an encounter with a bison, or any wildlife native to the park.

"If you are in the backcountry hiking and you come across any wildlife that's in your path, we urge you to travel around it, even if that means leaving the trail. Whatever distance you think you should remain from the animal, double it — that's how far away you should stay from bison," she noted.

With safety in mind, O'Ruillian said that for people seeking a glimpse of the bison at their most active, it's best to visit the park when temperatures are cooler.

"There's never a bad time to see bison at Antelope Island State Park. Bison are seen throughout the park all day; however, they can be more active in the mornings and as the sun sets when temperatures cool down," she said.

More information on preventing conflicts with bison is available here.

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