Yellowstone Bison Tosses 9-Year-Old Girl Into Air

David Moye

A 9-year-old is recovering after she was tossed into the air by a bison at Yellowstone National Park on Monday.

The unidentified girl from Odessa, Florida, was part of a group of about 50 or 60 people who came within five to 10 feet of the bison.

The group spent about 20 minutes near the animal before it charged, according to a National Park Service press release.

At one point, the bison hit the girl, who flew high into the air, according to 18-year-old Hailey Dayton, who filmed the incident.

“My brother and I were looking at the hot springs, and we saw a bunch of people running down the path to the bridge. We saw through the trees some people petting the bison, super close,” she told NBC News.

Dayton said the bison became “agitated by all the people and noise” and “just kind of attacked.”

She added: “After that, everyone was screaming. There were a bunch of kids crying.”

After the bison left the scene, the girl’s family took her to the Old Faithful Lodge where she was treated by emergency medical providers, according to the press release. She was later released, but the extent of her injuries is unknown.

The incident is still being investigated and no citations have been issued.

The National Park Service (NPS) website says it is “illegal to willfully remain near or approach wildlife, including birds, within any distance that disturbs or displaces the animal” and recommends visitors stay at least 25 yards from most wildlife at all times.

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Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. (victorfe, Flickr)
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. (victorfe, Flickr)

Yellowstone Grand Canyon Lower Falls

View of the Lower Falls at the Yellowstone Grand Canyon in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming on June 2, 2011. (Mark Ralston, AFP / Getty Images)
View of the Lower Falls at the Yellowstone Grand Canyon in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming on June 2, 2011. (Mark Ralston, AFP / Getty Images)

Upper Yellowstone Falls

Upper Yellowstone Falls. (nuance1979, Flickr)
Upper Yellowstone Falls. (nuance1979, Flickr)

Yellostone Grand Prismatic Hot Spring

View of the 'Grand Prismatic' hot spring with it's unique colors caused by brown, orange and yellow algae-like bacteria called Thermophiles, that thrive in the cooling water turning the vivid aqua-blue to a murkier greenish brown, in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming on June 1, 2011. (Mark Ralston, AFP / Getty Images)
View of the 'Grand Prismatic' hot spring with it's unique colors caused by brown, orange and yellow algae-like bacteria called Thermophiles, that thrive in the cooling water turning the vivid aqua-blue to a murkier greenish brown, in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming on June 1, 2011. (Mark Ralston, AFP / Getty Images)

Yellowstone Bison

Yellowstone Bison on a hill. (theclyde, Flickr)
Yellowstone Bison on a hill. (theclyde, Flickr)

Yellowstone Old Faithful Geyser

Tourists watch the 'Old Faithful' geyser which erupts on average every 90 minutes in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming on June 1, 2011. (Mark Ralston, AFP / Getty Images)
Tourists watch the 'Old Faithful' geyser which erupts on average every 90 minutes in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming on June 1, 2011. (Mark Ralston, AFP / Getty Images)

Yellowstone Elk

Yellowstone Elk (CaptPiper, Flickr)
Yellowstone Elk (CaptPiper, Flickr)

Yellowstone Grizzly Bear

Yellowstone's Grizzly Bear. (Terry Tollefsbol, USFWS / Flickr)
Yellowstone's Grizzly Bear. (Terry Tollefsbol, USFWS / Flickr)

Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout

Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout near Slough Creek. (CircumerroStock, Flickr)
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout near Slough Creek. (CircumerroStock, Flickr)

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone. (droidman, Flickr)
Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone. (droidman, Flickr)

Old Faithful Lodge

Old Faithful Lodge. (drburtoni, Flickr)
Old Faithful Lodge. (drburtoni, Flickr)

Roosevelt Arch

Roosevelt Arch. (Nathan Young, Flickr)
Roosevelt Arch. (Nathan Young, Flickr)

Steamboat Geyser

When Steamboat Geyser erupts, it can rocket a column of scalding water 90 - 120 meters into the air -- two to three times the average height of Old Faithful. (Travis S., Flickr)
When Steamboat Geyser erupts, it can rocket a column of scalding water 90 - 120 meters into the air -- two to three times the average height of Old Faithful. (Travis S., Flickr)

Lamar Valley

A summer storm sweeps down through the Lamar Valley in the northeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park. (tomkellyphoto, Flickr)
A summer storm sweeps down through the Lamar Valley in the northeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park. (tomkellyphoto, Flickr)

Yellowstone's Hayden Valley

Yellowstone's Hayden Valley. (mtsn, Flickr)
Yellowstone's Hayden Valley. (mtsn, Flickr)

Yellowstone Grand Loop

Bison interferring with traffic on Grand Loop Road in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (fritzmb, Flickr)
Bison interferring with traffic on Grand Loop Road in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (fritzmb, Flickr)

Snow Coach

Snow Coach at Yellowstone. (will.sebastian, Flickr)
Snow Coach at Yellowstone. (will.sebastian, Flickr)

Yellowstone's Bison in the snow.

A bison in the snow near Mammoth Hot Springs on Feb. 5, 2012. (Genthar, Flickr)
A bison in the snow near Mammoth Hot Springs on Feb. 5, 2012. (Genthar, Flickr)

Yellowstone Bison

This photo of Bison in the snow was taken near Old Faithful. (exquisitur, Flickr)
This photo of Bison in the snow was taken near Old Faithful. (exquisitur, Flickr)

Fort Yellowstone Visitor Center

Fort Yellowstone Visitor Center (whalt, Flickr)
Fort Yellowstone Visitor Center (whalt, Flickr)

Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake. (moonlightbulb, Flickr)
Yellowstone Lake. (moonlightbulb, Flickr)

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.