STEWART COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A log of calls made to 911 following a bison attack at Land Between the Lakes earlier this month provides insight into the injuries the victim suffered.
The U.S. Forest Service reported a 37-year-old man entered the restricted area of the South Bison Range on the afternoon of July 4 and was attacked and badly injured by a bison.
While dispatchers in Stewart County said the audio of the calls made to 911 are not accessible due to a lightning strike at the communications center, a copy of the call log was released to News 2 on Monday.
One caller reported the “patient has been gored” and people “cannot get to him.” That caller said it appeared the man was “about to pass out.”
A caller told a dispatcher the man was “thrown up in the air a couple times.”
The paperwork revealed first responders had determined the man suffered a “puncture wound about 1″ into his ribcage” and was “pretty banged up.”
Crews from Stewart County treated the man and airlifted him to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition.
The incident led Land Between the Lakes to issue a statement that said “Bison will aggressively protect their calves by confronting any perceived threat. Their sharp horns and hooves are unforgiving and they can react surprisingly fast.”
There has been no update on the man’s condition.
His name has not been released and it remains unclear where he is from.