A WOMAN came worryingly close to being gored by a wild bison as she idiotically tried to take a selfie with it.
Shocking footage shows how the tourist's walk through Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, US, nearly turned deadly in mere seconds.
In the video, shared on social media by Russ Bjorn, the woman walks along a boardwalk with three other pals at the volcanic hot spot.
A huge bison is just inches away from the group when the overzealous tourist decides she wants a closer look.
The unidentified woman brazenly reaches out her hand in an attempt to stroke the massive beast - before it lunges forward.
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She is visibly terrified as the bison makes a beeline for her and tries to run away in a panic, while her screams echo around the national park.
Her friends also yell out in horror as the selfie bid appeared to take a sinister turn, with the woman falling over herself as she tried to flee.
But the bison thankfully did not continue to approach the boardwalk and is not reported to have attacked the group.
Another reckless tourist also had a near miss recently as she tried to grab a selfie with one of the majestic creatures at Yellowstone.
She was filmed gazing into the camera as she got up close and personal with a bison as it grazed while enjoying a lie-down.
Onlookers claimed they spotted her "trying to pet it" on the Biscuit Basin trail for over ten minutes and that she ignored their warnings.
The woman is seen taking snaps from a variety of different angles while grinning, despite being just inches away from the bison's jaws.
The videos have sparked outrage on social media as people slammed the tourists for risking their lives for the sake of a selfie.
"Willfully remaining, approaching, and photographing wildlife within 100 yards" is illegal in Yellowstone.
The national park is home to the most important bison herd in the US, according to National Park Services (NPS).
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It is the only place in the country where the near-extinct animal have lived continuously since prehistoric times.
With a population ranging from 2,300 to 5,500, the hulking animals are regularly seen roaming close to humans.
'FLUNG LIKE RAG DOLLS'
The NPS warn visitors online that wild bison can become extremely aggressive if they feel threatened or if approached too closely.
They said that the animals are capable of throwing grown men into the air "like rag dolls."
Bison have caused more injuries in Yellowstone than any other animal, with at least three people being gored between May and July last year, according to LiveScience.
Tourists are supposed to follow strict safety rules which require them to stay at least 25 yards away from the beasts - which can weigh up to a whopping 2,000 pounds - at all times.
A tourist was rushed to hospital in June 2018 after being gored by an "agitated" bison at the world-famous nature reserve.
Kim Hancock, 59, was with a group of tourists at Yellowstone National Park when she got too close to the powerful beast.
In August 2018, a foolhardy man was filmed trying to take on a bison by repeatedly taunting it in Yellowstone.
ATTACKS
Raymond Reinke, 55, from Oregon, was arrested after the shock video of him tussling with the animal went viral.
A nine-year-old girl was then charged at by a bison and tossed ten feet in the air at the national park in July 2019.
Footage appeared to show her family saving themselves as the youngster was attacked.
An elderly woman was gored by a bison multiple times after she allegedly got within ten feet of it to take a photo in June 2020.
The 72-year-old is believed to have "threatened" the creature by invading its space, prompting it to lash out.
A string of other horror attacks have continued to make headlines, including a woman being attacked and thrown in the air by a bison.
Park rangers said the 25-year-old had got too close, sparking further warnings of the dangers of approaching wild animals.
TRAGIC CALF
In June last year, the moment a bison gored a man after he flung a child out of the beast's path was caught on camera.
The Colorado-born bloke, 34, bravely shielded the youngster as the bison charged towards his family near the famous Old Faithful geyser.
He suffered an arm injury after being gored by the beast, which can stand at six feet tall and run three times faster than humans.
Just hours later, a woman was gored at the national park in Wyoming after "inadvertently approaching" a bison as she returned to her car.
The 71-year-old from West Chester, Pennsylvania, sustained non-life-threatening injuries but was taken to hospital.
But there is also another important reason to adhere to park guidelines and safety rules regarding wildlife.
Yellowstone was forced to euthanise a bison calf just last week after it was handled by a man who believed he was rescuing it.
The unidentified visitor was pictured hauling the baby up from the river bank to the road with good intentions.
But park rangers said the calf was rejected and abandoned by its herd due to the human contact after they tried to reintroduce it, forcing them to kill it hours later.
