Elkhunter
New member
A young bull bison fell into an abandoned seepage pit at the McColliister home site in the eastern section of Grand Teton National Park on Wednesday. The yearling buffalo was discovered by a park employee that afternoon. The pit was covered with plywood, but apparently, the cover gave way when the animal walked across it. The pit is a cone shaped concrete-lined area about 7 feet deep. Park biologists, rangers and maintenance personnel used a backhoe to dig a trench adjacent to the seepage pit and built a ramp for the bison to use as an escape route. The bison was carefully pulled from the pit by a rope attached around its horns. The bison was alive, but very weak. He suffered some external abrasions when he struggled to get free of the pit, and may have internal injuries. Park staff checked on the bison yesterday. He had moved about 10 yards and still seemed week. The pit has been covered by heavy equipment to prevent the animal from falling into it again. A park service press release said that bison are hearty animals, and have been known to survive after significant accidents or injuries.