Why did the bison cross the road? To get the hell away from the 800-pound grizzly trying to eat him.

A photo of an injured bison being chased down a Yellowstone park road by a large grizzly bear is authentic, according to park officials.

Yellowstone National Park West District Ranger Michael Keator tells KTVQ channel 2 in Billings, Montana that the photo, which recently began circulating on the web, was taken by a park employee in April 2009, between the Madison Junction and Old Faithful, in the Fountain Flats area of Yellowstone National Park.

What happened after the photo was snapped? We're not sure, but it probably didn't end like this.

(UPDATE 11/7/10: According to a November 2 piece on The Weather Channel, the bison, which had been badly burned in one of Yellowstone's boiling hot springs outmaneuvered the bear but was later put down by park rangers because of its severe injuries.

(UPDATE (10/30/10) The photo, taken by Duke Wypyszinski, won first place in the wildlife category of the Yellowstone Co-Op Employee Recreation Program Summer 2010 Employee Photo Contest.

Photo: Duke Wypyszinski, National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior
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