A Utah man was stabbed violently by a bison when he tried to pet it last month due to his foolish actions, leaving him with a lacerated liver and an 8-inch gash, it was soon discovered.
Hallen Carvajal was seriously injured in the stunning attack, but he admitted he was “a fool in this scenario” for approaching the bison on his way home from an early Thanksgiving with his girlfriend.
He noticed a herd of bison on his neighbor’s property and decided to take a closer look.
“I was definitely stupid in this scenario. I went over the fence. I walked close to the fence and started walking back,” Carvajal explained to KUTV. “By the time I got back to the fence, he was following me all the way and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s amazing.’
“I did it because I wanted to pet him and I was naive about the whole thing, and he just shook me up quite a bit.”
He described to police how the animal lowered its head just before being impaled with its horns and flipping over. He quickly escaped despite being seriously injured.
Carvajal suffered an 8-inch cut to his stomach, broken ribs, a lacerated liver and a smashed lung, according to a GoFundMe page created to help with medical costs.
He was airlifted to the ICU where he remained for seven days and is now recovering at home.
“Haylen is one of the nicest and most selfless people I know,” the fundraiser said.
“He just finished his season with the Utah Conservation Corps and relies on his physical health to get the job done.”
Faith Heaton-Jolly, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources, told KUTV that because bison resemble cows, they can be considered tame or friendly, even though they are actually aggressive wild animals. He said there is a common misconception that this is the case.
“It was definitely a reality check, recognizing my own naivety and thinking it was okay to touch it, and realizing that I needed to have more respect for such a big crazy beast.” Carvajal told the station.
“You have to have more respect for a big crazy beast like that.”
