Friends gored by bison at same Utah park months apart

A man who was gored by a bison while trail running in Utah this summer witnessed a friend face off with another horned beast upon returning to the same spot just four months later.

Kyle Bourgeous, 30, was running along a trail on Antelope Island State Park in Syracuse, Utah, on June 1 when a bison charged him. After recovering from his injuries, Bourgeous decided to return to the park for the first time last Friday evening to go running with his friend, 22-year-old Kayleigh Davis, according to Lt. Eric Stucki with Utah State Parks.

As she ran ahead of Bourgeous on the trail, Davis noticed a bison charging toward her in the distance. She tried to avoid the large animal and run away. But the bison quickly caught up and rammed her with its horns, lifting her off the ground, according to a press release from the park service.

Davis sustained lower body injuries, including a fracture to her lower left leg and a laceration to the rear of her right thigh. Due to the severity of the injuries, she had to be airlifted to a hospital in Ogden, Utah. She's expected to make a full recovery, Stucki told ABC News.

Antelope Island State Park, situated in the southeastern portion of Great Salt Lake, is home to hundreds of bison.

Visitors who may encounter bison on the trails are encouraged to slowly back away and return from where they came, or leave the trail and give the wild animals a very wide berth when passing by.

Despite recent incidents, park officials said it's actually rare for bison to act aggressive toward humans.

“People get too close,” Jeremy Shaw, park manager at Antelope Island State Park, said in a July 25 statement. “They always want to get closer and closer and closer for photos or whatever. But ultimately, any time there is an interaction with wildlife, it’s because the people got too close.”