Yellowstone bison dies after stumbling into near-boiling waters of popular hot spring

A bison in Yellowstone National Park appeared to stumble into the scalding water of Grand Prismatic Spring, causing its death as tourists looked on during the park's busiest season.

A bison in Yellowstone National Park appeared to stumble into the scalding water of Grand Prismatic Spring, causing its death as tourists looked on during the park's busiest season.

The bison fell into the hot spring at Midway Geyser Basin near Old Faithful early Saturday, a spokesperson for Yellowstone said.

It's not entirely clear exactly how or why the animal ended up in the hot spring, said Michael Poland, the scientist-in-charge at Yellowstone Volcano Observatory and a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey.

But after having seen video of the accident, Poland said it looked like the bison got too close, stumbled further into the water and thrashed around before it fell into an even hotter part of Grand Prismatic, causing its death.

Poland said the bison died "fairly quickly," and he dispelled rumors that the spring's water is highly acidic, causing the animal to burn.