A brave buffalo crossed a raging river despite the water coming up to its neck during flooding in Yellowstone National Park.

Elie Wolf was in the US national park on June 9 when heavy rains and melted snow combined to produce floods that washed away bridges and shut the park completely.

Dramatic footage shows the massive animal almost swamped completely as it tried to get from one side of the Lamar Valley to the other.

Despite almost being submerged, the bison ploughed on and eventually made it to the dry land on the other side.

Elie said: “I was holding my breath just praying he made it across. That river was really rolling, as were so many during this unprecedented time in Yellowstone.

“Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark blob and it looked like a struggle in the water.

“I pulled out the superzoom and saw it was a buffalo. It seemed like a longer than normal crossing because he was up to the neck in water. In total it took two minutes for him to cross.

“He did seem really tired. He struggled even stepping up onto the bank when he got across.

“The Lamar Valley does have a river, but this was unusually high and flowing fast.

“This was during the heavy rains which combined with melting snow to produce massive flooding and mudslides that took out many roads in and out of the park and sent houses into the river.”