Seeing wildlife in the wild is always fun, but there's such a thing as getting too close for comfort.
Instagrammer Tourons of Yellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone) posted a video of a large number of tourists, including children, standing very, very close to an extremely large bison. While the bison just grazes away, they are so close that it could have done some significant damage if it got spooked.
They captioned the video, "No one is safe around these 2,000 pound beasts, they will mow you down like bowling pins. Be bison aware."
Getting close to animals isn't just dangerous to people — it's also dangerous to the wildlife. According to the Humane Society of the United States, people cause animals to get hurt and even to die regularly simply by getting too close to them too often. Some get hit by cars, and others are injured when handled by well-meaning tourists.
CNN reported that a bison calf in Yellowstone even had to be euthanized after it got used to being too close to people because it was inadvertently endangering them.
There are a number of solutions to these problems. If we elect pro-climate candidates, they might be able to put tougher laws in place so that people are less likely to get too close to animals because of the stiff fines they face. High fines seem to be stopping littering in natural areas in Thailand, and it could work for this issue, too.
Building more wildlife crossings in national parks and the surrounding areas could also help mitigate some of the damage done to animals. In the end, we need to work together to keep both tourists and animals safe while preserving the amazing experience of seeing these creatures in the wild.
Commenters seem to agree that the tourists in the video need to think again.
"Do they think there's an invisible force field? Do they think they're at Disney? Have they never been injured by an animal? What?" one asked.
Another said, "They should be thankful forage takes precedence over rampage."
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