Kristi Wilt said the wife in a Yellowstone fishing video saved a man from walking straight into a bison.
The July 19 clip shows the fisherman near the Lamar River in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, while Wilt, her family, and park visitors in a car spotted the bull bison closing in from behind.
Wilt said she and her family were deciding whether to honk when the truck behind them beat them to it.
“The truck behind us started honking before we did, alerting the fisherman, who later found out it was his wife who honked,” Wilt told Storyful.
The video was posted and recirculated this week as a fresh Yellowstone scare, with the encounter filmed from a vehicle and the fisherman framed by the riverbank and the looming animal.
“The truck behind us started honking before we did, alerting the fisherman, who later found out it was his wife who honked,” Wilt told Storyful.
Wilt said she nearly sounded her own horn, but hesitated because she worried it could rattle the animal.
“We were all so relieved as he walked like a boss, no eye contact, no fast movements, away from the bison,” Wilt said.
“The truck behind us started honking before we did, alerting the fisherman, who later found out it was his wife who honked,” Wilt told Storyful.
A second account of the same July 19 video said the man was fishing with his back to the animal when park visitors in a car started honking.
“Behind you!” a woman says before the fisherman turns around.
“Yep, there you go,” a man in the car then says. “He sees him.”
“The truck behind us started honking before we did, alerting the fisherman, who later found out it was his wife who honked,” Wilt told Storyful.
The fisherman then eased away from the river and passed within feet of the bison, but no one was hurt.
“Holy cow! He’s so close!” a man in the video says as he watches the fisherman walk away from the bison.
Wilt said the bison eventually moved on after reaching the spot where the man had been standing.
“It sure was scary,” Wilt said.
She also said the fisherman handled the moment with unusual calm.
“I’ve never seen someone handle such a tumultuous situation so well,” she said. “He took that like a boss.”
In the viral moment, the bull bison drifted up behind the fisherman as he cast his line and seemed not to notice him at first.
The people in the car honked, the fisherman turned, and the animal kept moving.
The family had driven to Lamar Valley on July 19 to look for wildlife, and Wilt later said they had already seen plenty of bears and bison that evening.
“That’s why Wilt and her husband were so hesitant to honk their horn to get the angler’s attention,” Cowboy State Daily reported.
The Yellowstone scare followed a July 10 bison attack at Bridge Bay Campground that left a 65-year-old man injured, and park officials continue to warn visitors to keep at least 25 yards from bison.
The next event on the park’s calendar is a Yellowstone visitor safety reminder in Mammoth Hot Springs.