11 PHOTOS Yellowstone bison See Gallery Badass bison survives being struck by lightning and has the scar to prove it American bison at a Yellowstone geyser basin in winter, Bison bison, Thermal pools provide warmth and growths of algae, food for bison in winter, West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, (Photo by Wild Horizons/UIG via Getty Images) USA, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park, Hayden Valley With Bison Herd With Babies In Fog. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images) American bison, Bovidae, Yellowstone National Park, Canada. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images) Snow continues to fall in Genesee Park on a buffalo stand in a field of fresh snow, April 23, 2013. Year ago Denver created the bison park as a tourist attraction along Interstate 70. The bison were originally sourced from Yellowstone National Park, and are considered one of the country's wildest herds. (Photo By RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images) Yellowstone National Park Wyoming April 2013 A herd of bison feed near Tower Junction in Yellowstone National Park. (Photo by Erik Petersen/For The Washington Post via Getty Images) A bison grazes on grasses in the Hayden Valley section of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images) A bison searches for food near Blacktail Plateau in Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday. (Photo by Erik Petersen/For The Washington Post via Getty Images) A bison looks back as it crosses the road near Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park. (Photo by Erik Petersen/For The Washington Post via Getty Images) American Bison (also known as Buffalo) and their calves, forage for food at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming on June 1, 2011. In the early 1800's, an estimated 65 million bison roamed throughout the continent of North America but hunting and poaching had a devastating effect on their population and by 1890, fewer than 1,000 remained. Today there are an estimated 4000 bison in Yellowstone National Park. (MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images) Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park, Hayden Valley With Fog, Bison. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

BY: TROY FRISBYLike Kelly Rowland and Richard Hatch before him, a bison in Iowa is proving that he's a survivor, beating the odds after being struck by lightning. The bison, named Sparky, was struck by lightning in 2013 in Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge in Iowa, and he wasn't expected to live much longer after that.His wound was discovered when wildlife biologist Karen Viste-Sparkman stopped by the refuge to check up on the herd.So Sparky isn't just a reference to the lightning strike, but also to Viste-Sparkman too.Sparkman noticed some burns on the bison's hump, as well as a large lump on Sparky's hind leg that she believes to be the exit wound.While that means Sparky likely wasn't standing when the lightning struck, he didn't take his injuries lying down... literally.Sparky was standing up when his injuries were spotted, which was a good sign and further proof that bisons are tough animals. Not only are they the biggest land mammals in North America, weighing up 2,000 pounds, but some can leap about 6 feet in the air. So now that he's doing better, Sparky can go back to eating grass and out-jumping LeBron James.