A video of tourists approaching a bear in Yellowstone National Park has gone viral for the obliviousness to safety that the tourists exhibited.
The video taken by Tony Jackson (@tonyjackson48) and posted on TouronsOfYellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone) drew strong reactions after users were stunned at the flagrant behavior of the tourists.
In the video, a few tourists walk up to a brown bear with her cubs in an attempt to film them.
"Momma bear and 2 cubs in Yellowstone," the bystander noted. "The ranger said if that had been a grizzly, it would have been a fatality."
Viewers have expressed their disbelief at the tourists' actions.
"This is unbelievable to me," said one commenter. "He's lucky she didn't literally knock his head off his body."
Approaching wildlife in national parks has been a consistent problem. The dangers are continuously communicated, but tourists still seem to ignore the warnings.
The National Park Service explains that bear attacks are rare as bears are mostly only interested in protecting their food, cubs, or space. Yet, being prepared can help tourists have the most effective reaction if they find themselves in a dangerous situation with a bear.
"Following viewing etiquette is the first step to avoiding an encounter with a bear that could escalate into an attack," the NPS explains.
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Safety is compromised when humans invade a bear's personal space. It can also be harmful to the bear's ecosystem if tourists continually invade their space; bears might determine them a threat and stay away from an area where they have shelter and food.
Commenters on the video express the harm in approaching the animals for both the tourists' safety and their boundaries.
"No boundaries, respect, integrity, or common sense whatsoever," one commenter wrote. "These poor animals need to be left alone."
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