No matter how docile a bison might seem, under no circumstances should you try to pet them.
In fact, at Yellowstone National Park, there are specific rules in place that ask visitors to remain at least 25 yards away from the large bovines at all times.
But the message isn't getting through to everyone.
One Redditor captured unbelievable footage of one tourist who thought that a bison that was lying down on the grass next to a walking path near Old Faithful was doing so because they wanted to be stroked.Â
Luckily, on this occasion, the bison showed extreme restraint and only lifted its head toward the misguided tourist rather than breaking into a full charge.
The park-goer could have easily been struck by the animal in self-defense, and they were even captured trying to pet bison on two separate occasions. Fortune was definitely on their side that day.
"She's totally antagonizing it," the person filming the incident, using the zoom function on their camera, says in the video. "I just want to go yell at her. Because it's people like her that just ruin it for everybody."
"Being disemboweled by a massive bison just isn't worth the risk of playing Disney Princess," one commenter on Reddit said. "That was one very lucky human."
The incident happened in 2016, and Salt Lake City's KSL News picked up on the story.
The outlet noted that the year before was one of the worst for bison attacks in Yellowstone history at the time, with three people getting tossed by bison and two people being gored. Amazingly, the person in the video didn't suffer a similar fate.
While the tourist avoided serious injury or worse, the bison was also lucky not to be put in danger, too. If a bison attacks a human, they will likely be euthanized because they will be considered a threat to other park visitors.
As the person filming said, it's people like this who ruin the park for everyone else — including the animals. Visiting Yellowstone is a privilege, and if you can't respect the local wildlife, maybe you should just stay home.Â
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