These Yellowstone tourists were uncomfortably close to becoming human soup.
Tourons of Yellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone) is back with another dangerous display in the park by "tourist morons," or tourons. The posted video shows two tourists walking along the edge of an enormous Yellowstone hot spring.
The caption reads: "Tourons illegally off the boardwalk again at Grand Prismatic!"
The Grand Prismatic Spring can reach temperatures of nearly 200 degrees Fahrenheit — practically boiling. If that wasn't dangerous enough, the thin ground around the springs can spontaneously collapse, resulting in severe burns and death.
According to the National Park Service, "Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature."
Despite their deadly reputation, many tourists ignore posted warnings and walk dangerously close to springs and geysers. Another tourist even tried to stick their hand in a geyser.
It's not just the hot springs, either. Tourons will repeatedly find ways to put themselves in danger. This woman was about to pet a bison — which have harmed more tourists at the park than any other animal — before a park ranger stepped in.
While the national parks do exist for recreation, this should never come at the expense of preservation. The rules and regulations aren't to stop you from having fun; they're to prevent injury or death to yourself, others, and wildlife.
If you're visiting national parks, remember that these parks are a privilege, not a right. To ensure these places of natural beauty exist for ourselves and future generations to enjoy, we must continue to practice respect by abiding by rules in the parks.
Commenters were disappointed, but not surprised.
"They are damaging the algae and other bacteria that are essential to its ecosystem," one user said. "They have no idea how much damage they do."
"I guess the parks don't have enough rangers to help. Perhaps they should stiffen the penalties," another user suggested.
As for the stiffened penalties, "they should be arrested immediately and fined heavily," a commenter proposed.
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