A bystander in Grand Teton National Park shared a video on Instagram of an off-leash dog running up to a wild bison and nearly losing its life.
In the video, posted by TouronsOfYellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone), the husky dog is wearing a harness, but its irresponsible owner disregarded the rules of the park and let the dog off its leash. The husky ventures up to the enormous bison's face, clearly not knowing the danger it's in.
In a rapid movement, the bison darts toward the dog, kicking up dirt and almost stomping on the husky. The dog was able to move out of the way fast enough to avoid injury, but it could have easily been much worse.
The caption on the photo says: "Domesticated Vs. Wild … The massive bison was being a bison."
These large animals are known for charging when they feel threatened. This bison was simply behaving in a natural way, but it almost cost the life of a careless tourist's dog.
The rules in national parks are there for everyone's safety, including the protected wildlife. Visitors disregard the rules too often and put other tourists, themselves, and in this case, their pets at severe risk.
Many tourists don't realize that their actions can endanger even the largest of wildlife, like bison. If an animal injures a human, provoked or unprovoked, it may be euthanized.
National parks offer people an opportunity to witness the beautiful outdoors and see wildlife in their natural habitat. Visitors who break the rules ruin the experience for others and threaten the wildlife and nature that's being preserved.
Commenters on the Instagram post were furious at the irresponsible tourist's actions.
One user said: "This is so awful!"
Another suggested: "The owners need to be permanently banned from all National Parks!"
One user had a message for dog owners visiting national parks: "Be good owners. Pick up the poop, keep them on a leash and overall understand you are the visitor."
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