Bison Struck By Lightning In Iowa Is Still Bisoning Around

By Kate Shepherd in News on Jan 11, 2016 3:00PM

Photo by Karen Viste-Sparkman, USFWS.

If you're feeling the winter blues, here's a story of an inspiring bison that will get you through, courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In July of that year, wildlife biologist Karen Viste-Sparkman was doing a survey of bison on Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa when she noticed one bison standing by himself. He had been struck by lightning, and was burned over a large area of his body

Nicknamed Sparky due to the lightning strike, he was thin and wasn't expected to live long with his injuries. The refuge didn't give him medical assistance, and instead "let nature take its course," since lightning is a natural thing that could hit a wild bison.

More than two years later, though, Sparky is still going strong! At 1,600 pounds and 11 years old, he's still a bit thinner than the rest of the bison, but he's still standing. He still lives at the refuge, and he may even have fathered baby bison after the lightning strike—the ultimate power play, for all species.