‘He flipped me in the air’: Utah woman recalls bison attack

Kayleigh Davis talks about being attacked by a bison two days earlier as she recovers in Ogden on Sunday, September 29, 2019. | Winston Armani

Her date was also injured by a bison at Antelope Island State Park earlier this year

ANTELOPE ISLAND STATE PARK — What started as a regular date for one Utah man and woman ended in a terrifying encounter with a bison at Antelope Island State Park — and an astonishing coincidence.

When Kayleigh Davis met up with her friend, Kyler Bourgeous, for a run on a trail at the park, she knew it was his first week back at the island after a bison attacked him there in June.

“I had called her to see if she wanted to watch the sunset out on Antelope Island,” Bourgeous recalled Sunday.

“I thought my incident was a freak accident with really bad luck with the positioning, and that we’d be fine going back out there.”

But Friday, when the two went for their evening run, Davis, about a quarter mile ahead, spotted the bison off the trail.

“There’s a bison, and I was uncomfortable standing there by myself, especially after hearing his story,” Davis explained. She turned around to run back toward her friend.

“I go around the bison, like off the trail away from him, and there’s actually four bikers coming down the trail and I think they had spooked him.”

The bison zeroed in on her.

“That’s when he flipped me up in the air ... I was about 15 feet in the air,” Davis recalled.

Witnesses also saw the bison strike the woman, park officials said in a statement Saturday.

While she lay motionless on the ground, she says the bison stuck around a little while longer.

“He was hanging over me, sniffing me for a minute, and he was digging like he was about to charge again.”

But Bourgeous had cautioned her that if such an attack were to happen, she should stay still, Davis said. However, she couldn’t help but scream while the bison lingered.

The animal eventually left, and Davis was flown to McKay Dee Hospital with a broken ankle and a cut on her calf. Expecting to be released soon, Davis was remaining positive after the frightening incident.

The two have no future dates planned at Antelope Island.

Park officials said Davis was the second person injured by a bison there this year.

Winston Armani

Kayleigh Davis’ leg is pictured in a cast on Sunday, September 29, 2019 in Ogden, two days after she was attacked by a bison.

Winston Armani

Kayleigh Davis talks about being attacked by a bison two days earlier as she recovers in Ogden on Sunday, September 29, 2019.

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