Bison Attacks on Catalina Island: 10 Detailed Incidents
While bison attacks on Catalina Island are relatively rare, they do happen, and in most instances, they are preventable. While working as a wildlife biologist on the island and assisting in the managment of the bison herd, I documented several bison attacks that resulted in significant injuries and lawsuits.
Unlike Yellowstone National Park, where bison are native wildlife and, therefore, sheltered from liability claims, the bison on Catalina Island are owned by the Catalina Island Conservancy and registered and managed as livestock. Despite repeated recommendations to reduce and contain the herd within a fenced area or remove them from the island altogether, the Conservancy continues to allow the bison to range freely.
The current managment approach has resulted in bison that are often in poor health, significant ecological impacts, and life-threatening injuries to residents and visitors.
Catalina Island Bison
In 1924, fourteen bison were introduced to Catalina Island, California, in association with the Lasky Film Company, now Paramount, and the filming of Zane Grey’s The Thundering Herd.
In 1972, the Catalina Island Conservancy was founded, and approximately 88% of the island, including the bison herd, which had been supplemented and had grown to approximately 400 individuals at the time, was entrusted to their care. Over the years, the bison have become popular among visitors and beloved by many of the island’s four thousand residents.
Periodic removals and, more recently, contraception have been used to curtail the herd’s growth in an attempt to minimize their impacts on the island’s unique and fragile ecology. However, allowing the bison to roam freely has resulted in several bison attacks on the island.
Bison Attacks on Catalina Island (2007 – 2024)
24-Year-Old Cerritos Resident is Gored by a Bison at Two Harbors (2007)
Articles in the Los Angeles Daily News, Whittier Daily News, and Press-Telegram detail an incident in which Jardrec Anangos, a 24-year-old resident of Cerritos, was backpacking with a group of friends at Two Harbors and was attacked by a bison.
According to the article, which included Jardrec’s recollection of the incident, the group had encountered a herd of approximately 15 bison blocking the path to the beach. While attempting to walk past the herd, Jardec came within 20 feet of one of the animals, was charged, and gored from behind.
Jardrec’s injuries included a punctured thigh and fractured pelvic bone, and he was airlifted to Long Beach Memorial Hospital for treatment.
While Jardrec insists the attack was unprovoked, a witness commented on one of the articles, claiming that Jardrec had “walked through the middle of the herd, between some calves, mothers and the males, and that one of the big males warned him.”
None of the news articles mentioned that the bison were not supposed to be in Two Harbors. A fence spanning the width of the Island on the east side of the isthmus prevents the bison from accessing the Island’s west end and populated Isthmus community. The automatic gate utilized for vehicles, however, was known to frequently malfunction due to fog impeding the sensors, resulting in the gate remaining open for extended periods.
The gate was eventually replaced with one that required a key card to open; however, the new gate was susceptible to the same issues and was also frequently left open on purpose to facilitate people without key cards to gain access.
Another article, which I can no longer find, mentions Jardrec’s intention to file a lawsuit in response to the incident and that he had secured representation from the law offices of Weber & Baer in Los Angeles.
9-Year-Old Boy Tossed by a Bison Bull at Little Harbor (2012)
Aside from a brief article in the Press-Telegram, this incident did not receive much attention at the time; however, it is mentioned in several articles associated with a more recent bison attack.
This 2015 LA Times Article, for instance, references the 2012 incident, including details that the boy had been “struck by a bison that was spooked by sightseers near Little Harbor” and had “suffered a small stomach injury.”
As I recall from internal discussions, legal action was again being considered because the bison were permitted to roam freely through the Little Harbor campground and day-use area unrestricted and without adequate warnings in place to alert visitors to the potential risks.
A Contractor Working for the Conservancy is Gored by a Bison (2015)
According to the LAist and an article in the Press-Enterprise, Chris Baker was hiking near Tower Peak on the Isthmus side of the fence and was mapping potential routes in association with the Conservancy’s expansion of the trans-Catalina Island trail system when he encountered a bison.
Although he tried to back away slowly, the bison charged and gored Chris, leaving him with a punctured lung and six broken ribs. In one of the articles, Chris’s mother is quoted as saying that Chris had been taking photos of the bison prior to the attack, but this detail was later determined to be a misunderstanding and incorrect.
Despite his injuries, Chris walked a quarter of a mile and fortuitously encountered three off-duty firefighters who came to his aid. He was eventually airlifted to the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for treatment.
According to UniCourt.com and Trellis.Law, Chris filed a lawsuit against the Catalina Island Conservancy, the Catalina Island Company, and Two Harbors Enterprises in August 2017.
Just prior to my leaving the Conservancy in 2017, I presented prior managment information about the bison to the Conservancy’s CEO, Tony Budrovich, and a relatively new executive team. During the meeting, Tony outlined the Conservancy’s plan to deny ownership of the bison in response to the lawsuit. More on this later.
50-Year-Old Women is Knocked Down by a Bison in Two Harbors (2016)
Due to my association with the bison on Catalina Island, I was often approached by people sharing their close encounters with the scruffy beasts or their eyewitness accounts of other people being chased or even knocked down by a bison.
Encounters that don’t result in serious injuries rarely make the news and generally go unreported; however, if a ranger or other emergency staff is called, the incident is documented.
In this instance, a woman approached a bison bull feeding within a roped-off area in Two Harbors. Although the ropes hung only a foot off the ground between three-foot posts, the woman assumed that the bison was captive and tame, so she attempted to pet the animal.
A head butt from the bull knocked the woman to the ground. Thankfully, it did not punish her any further for her stupidity. She was examined by emergency responders and transported to the Catalina Island Medical Center. No major injuries were reported.
Rangers responded to another minor incident at Blackjack Campground in 2016. In my bison incident spreadsheet, it simply says that a bison bull tending cow #9056 knocked a woman over. No serious injuries were reported, just bruises and the name of the ranger who responded is listed.
A Female Camp Counselor is Gored Near White’s Landing (2017)
Aside from a brief mention in a Press-Telegram article about a Catalina Island bison being euthanized, this incident didn’t garner much news attention. According to inside reports, however, Lauren Michaels, a 27-year-old camp counselor, was gored by a bison while jogging along a trail near White’s Landing.
Lauren apparently did not see the animal until it struck her on the left side, knocking her to the ground and lacerating her left hip. She was then pushed to the other side of the road by the bison. According to her statement, Lauren did not lose consciousness and was found approximately 40 minutes after the attack.
Baywatch and the LA County Fire Department responded and treated Lauren on the scene. She was airlifted to a mainland hospital in stable condition.
Camper Gored by a Bison on Catalina Island (2018)
An article in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune describes an incident in which a bison gored a man who was camping at Little Harbor.
According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Ray Ward, the man, was sitting on a log, and the bison was grazing nearby. “When the man saw that the (animal) was getting closer to him, he got up and tried to move away,” he said. “That’s when (it) charged him and gored him in his left arm.”
Ward said Los Angeles Fire Department officials treated the man at the scene, and he was later airlifted to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Island Resident is Gored by a Bison at Little Harbor Campground (2018)
According to the Catalina Islander, Melinda Sessions, a 64-year-old island resident, was gored by a bison near Little Harbor in March 2018 and sustained serious injuries.
The article reports that Melinda had been taking photos of the bison. When she realized the animal was approaching her, she turned and fled away from her nearby vehicle. The bison struck her on the right side of her back. Melinda received medical attention on-site and was airlifted to the mainland Harbor UCLA Medical Center.
MELINDA SESSIONS VS CATALINA ISLAND COMPANY, ET AL.
According to information available at UniCourt.com, Melinda Session filed a personal injury lawsuit against the Catalina Island Conservancy and Island Company in association with the bison attack. As noted within the tentative rulings section on the UniCourt webpage, the Conservancy and Island Company made several unsuccessful attempts to have the lawsuit dismissed by arguing that:
- Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable for an injury caused by a natural condition…
- The plaintiff’s action is barred by the primary assumption of risk doctrine, which was developed in recognition that some activities are inherently dangerous such that the defendant has no duty to protect the plaintiff from those inherent dangers.
- There were no reasonable steps the Conservancy or Island Company could have taken to minimize the risk that the wild bison posed to visitors and campers.
- The Conservancy did not own or keep the wild bison.
Directly from within the case rulings – In their separate statement, Defendants cite to the declaration of Tony Budrovich, the present and CEO of the Conservancy, who states that the bison roam as wild animals and the Conservancy does not regularly feed or care for the wild animals on the island, including the wild bison.
In opposition, Plaintiff offers multiple excerpts from Budrovich’s deposition transcript showing the extent of control the Conservancy exercises over the bison. Budrovich testifies that the bison are not native to Catalina Island and that the Conservancy takes steps to manage the population of the bison, including using birth control. The Conservancy has also removed bison from the island on three separate occasions and imported bison from the mainland to the island. The Conservancy also quarantines, performs veterinary checks, and provides water sources to the bison. These facts are sufficient to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether Defendants were “keepers” of the wild bison. In light of the foregoing, the Motion for summary judgment is DENIED.
Bison Gores Ojai Women at Catalina Campsite (2022)
An article in the Ojai Valley News provides an exceptionally detailed account of Linda Jordan’s near-death experience with a bison while camping with her two friends on Catalina Island.
According to the article, Jordan woke to use the restroom, and as she stood outside her tent, she came face-to-face with a bison standing just 10 feet away. “I didn’t have time to be afraid or even to think,” said Jordan. “Quick as thought, he was on me.” The bison charged. Jordan was hit full force in her thigh with a sharp stab from the bison’s horn.
In the article, Jordan also describes the treatment she received at the hospital, her recovery, her gratitude for everyone who had come to her aid, and her desire to get back out there and enjoy life.
Bison Drowns in Fight with Other Bison in Little Harbor (2022)
Although this incident, as described in the Catalina Islander, does not result in any human injuries, I believe it bears including. According to the article, heavy equipment was deployed to the Little Harbor campground on Catalina Island to disrupt a fight between multiple bison while campers were directed into vehicles and onto picnic tables. In the end, three of the bison apparently drove a bison bull into the water, and it drowned.
The article also includes an interview with then Conservancy CEO Tony Budrovich in which he provides an inaccurate description of bison behavior and herd demographics and makes several false and misleading claims, including “bison live longer on Catalina Island than anywhere else in the country. We have nearly a dozen bison who have lived more than 30 years on Catalina”. This is NOT true.
Catalina Island Bison Attacks a Camper at White’s Landing (2022)
In May 2022, Sarah James was attacked by a bison as she was exiting the dining hall at White’s Landing on her way to the restroom. According to reports, the bison initially headbutted Sarah and then flipped her into the air and down onto her neck.
Apparently, Sarah had been sitting at a bonfire with other campers and camp staff and had walked through the dining hall on her way to the restroom. Upon exiting the dining hall, Sarah was immediately within one to two feet of a bison bull, which she did not initially see in the dark, and she was struck before she could react.
The attack resulted in multiple spinal fractures, and Sarah was transported to the Harbor UCLA Medical Center for treatment.
In December 2023, a personal injury lawsuit was filed against Mountain and Sea Education Adventures, Hipcamp, UC Glamping Partners LLC, and the Catalina Island Conservancy. The case settled short of trial in late October 2024.
Cyclist Gored by a Bison on Catalina Island (2023)
An event noted in the Sherif’s Log of the Catalina Islander briefly describes an incident involving a cyclist and a bison. The entire note reads as follows:
Deputies and the fire departments responded to Rancho Escondido Road regarding a medical rescue call. The caller stated his friend was riding his bike and was gored by a bison. The first responders were able to locate the man, begin treating him, and placed him in an awaiting ambulance. The man was airlifted off the island in stable condition and was talking to paramedics.
The man has since been identified as Brian Leishman. In January 2024, Brian filed a property-other personal property lawsuit against the Catalina Island Company, the Catalina Island Conservancy, the City of Avalon, the County of Los Angeles, and the State of California.
Details associated with this lawsuit are also publicly available at Trellis.law and Unicourt.com.
Conclusion
Bison attacks will continue to occur on Catalina Island unless new managment actions are taken. To date, the well-demonstrated ecological impacts of the bison, their diminished health, life-threatening injuries to residents and visitors, and the resulting settlements have not been enough to elicit significant changes.
It bears repeating that bison in California exist only as privately owned livestock. They were introduced to the island and are not managed as wildlife.
Who do you think should be held responsible for bison attacks on Catalina Island? How should the bison be managed to improve their health, reduce their ecological impacts, and protect residents and visitors from future attacks? Do you have other questions you would like answered about the bison on Catalina Island? Please comment below to share your thoughts and questions.
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