Seeing animals in the wild can be spectacular, but it is also important to keep a safe distance away. Some people, however, seem determined to throw caution to the wind to get the perfect picture, as one video posted on Instagram recently showed.
The video on the Tourons of National Parks (@touronsofnationalparks) Instagram page, courtesy of Keith Mc Cabe (@keithmccabe92), showed a person stopping their car to get out and film a bear.
Filmed in Banff National Park, Canada, the bear crosses the road in front of the car, a few yards from the man attempting to film it. "Get back in your car," one person can be heard saying in the video.
While bear attacks are rare, people should always maintain a safe distance away to stay safe, as the National Park Service has made clear.
Keeping a safe distance away protects people, and it is also good for the bears, who can become stressed in the presence of humans. This holds true for pretty much any wild animal, and park rules require people to view animals from a safe distance away.
Respecting wild animals helps prevent negative human-wildlife interactions, which is important for wildlife and habitat conservation. National parks were created to help preserve habitats for future generations, and they are home to a wide range of biodiversity. Biodiversity is our strongest natural defense against a warming planet, per the United Nations.
Despite park rules, there have been many reports of people harassing wildlife in national parks. One video showed an elk charging at a group of tourists after they decided to get too close to the herd, while another showed tourists getting too close to a bison.
"Do they not know that the windows in a vehicle actually open?" one amazed commenter wrote.
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