Professional wildlife photographer captures dangerous scene as tourists block grizzly bear: 'There was nowhere for it to go'

A professional wildlife and nature photographer captured disturbing footage of tourists crowding around a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park.

With their phones out to film the wild animal, the massive crowd blocked the bear and prevented it from crossing the road.

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A post shared by Kyle Moon 🇺🇸 (@moonman04)

Kyle Moon (@moonman04) shared the video on his Instagram account after witnessing the encounter along the Firehole River.

Kyle explained that many people were within 25 yards of the bear, even though they should have been at least 100 yards away for their safety.

"I watched this grizzly go back and forth multiple times looking for an exit route to cross the street and get to the other side, but there was nowhere for it to go as people lined the side of the road outside their vehicles," Kyle wrote.

He shot the video through a spotting scope from a far distance upriver. In his post, Kyle said there isn't a day that goes by where he doesn't see a scene like this while working in the park.

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Seeing a bear in the wild is a magical experience, but it's one that can very quickly turn deadly for both bears and humans.

Social media is filled with terrifying videos of reckless tourists getting too close to bears just to take photos and videos of them. Park rangers are often required to intervene in these situations. Yet tourists must be responsible for their own actions and set an example for others in parks, especially children.

Keeping a safe distance of at least 100 yards from bears is crucial for everyone's safety and to preserve the animals' natural habitat. Grizzly bears can reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour, per North American Nature. In other words, they can easily outrun any human.

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Kyle's Instagram followers were appalled at the tourists' behavior around the bear and expressed opinions about how everyone seems to think they're a wildlife photographer these days.

"This makes me angry," one Instagrammer commented. "They should be kicked out of the park."

The original poster advised, "Don't let massive crowds like this make you think it's OK to join them and don't forget that sub-adult grizzly can ruin your day permanently."