When visiting a golf course in Colorado one afternoon, one of the photographers from Good Bull Outdoors (@goodbulloutdoors) noticed something shocking: A young man on the course seemed to be aiming all of his swings toward a group of elk grazing nearby.
The Good Bull Outdoors representative, who is a professional wildlife photographer, was particularly attuned to the importance of respecting animals — and correspondingly angered by the cruel, pointless behavior. He immediately began recording video on his phone as the man sent one ball after another flying toward the unsuspecting herd. Fortunately, none of them — at least none of the ones captured on camera — made contact.
As the young man teed up for another swing, the photographer called out: "You wanna keep hitting at the elk, I'll happily send the video to the cops."
Sadly, he shared, this was "not the first" instance of such bewildering behavior. "What would you do?" he wrote.
Many people, it seems, would do the exact same thing as the golfer. Sadly, there are countless instances of people harassing wild animals, whether for a photo, entertainment, or simply because they were there.
In Yellowstone National Park, the issue is so pervasive that there's an entire Instagram page dedicated to "tourons" — a combination of "tourist" and "moron" — whose behaviors are caught on camera. The account (@touronsofyellowstone) has over 560,000 followers, and it features tourons who tempt fate by getting up close and personal with everything from bison to bears to moose.
Not only is this behavior cruel to animals, it's extremely dangerous for the tourons themselves and for the people in their vicinity. Even animals that appear disinterested or docile are still wild, and they need to be treated with respect for everyone's sake.
For bystanders, the approach demonstrated by the Good Bull photographer is an effective one. Capturing this behavior on video, particularly when the perpetrator's face is visible, can help parks (or golf courses) to identify the person and administer consequences for their behavior. And hopefully, by pointing out the error of their ways, it will also instill a sense of caution and respect in the future, helping to keep everybody — human and animal — safe.
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