'I was shocked:' Video shows bison with its head trapped in car at Quebec wildlife park
A large bison at a wildlife park in western Quebec is unhurt after a frightening incident over the weekend.
The bison—weighing in well more than 450 kilograms—got its head stuck through the open window of a small car on Sunday at Parc Oméga, east of Gatineau, near Montebello, Que.
“Somebody opened the window and … the bison put the head inside the car and I was shocked,” said Leonardo Heizer, who was at the park and captured the now viral video.
Heizer and his family made the drive from Ottawa, hoping to see bison for the first time since immigrating to Canada from Brazil four years ago.
What he saw instead was something staff at the park say has never happened before.
“I was thinking somebody is going to get hurt for sure,” Heizer said.
Thankfully, staff say the bison was able to free itself from the vehicle in about ten minutes without harming itself or the people in the car.
“He wasn’t trapped that long so thankfully it was just more panic rather than anything else, so he wasn’t hurt and he managed to get himself back out and he wasn’t hurt so we’re very thankful for that,” Lucy Robertson, a staff member at Parc Oméga said.
Robertson says the incident is a reminder of the importance of following the park’s rules.
“All of our safety rules have been put in place to avoid any incidents, such as what happened on Sunday, and just to ensure the safety of both animals and our visitors,” she noted.
The park expressly forbids people from opening their windows in the bison enclosure, or feeding the animals.
Heizer says the car involved was significantly damaged.
“The windshield was damaged and the column between the front window and the windshield was damaged too,” he noted.
Staff at the park couldn’t say whether the driver of the vehicle would face any punishment as a result of the incident.
The park remains open and visitors can still see the bison in its enclosure.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confirms his party will support the Liberals' federal budget
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will support the federal budget, ending any speculation that the party could pull out of its deal with the minority Liberal government.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.