One photographer's attempt at a flex backfired immediately after Redditors called them out for being far too close to the wild animals they captured on camera.
They shared their handiwork with the r/pics subreddit, with their shots showing encounters with grizzly bears, their cubs, and a blurry shot of a bighorn sheep.
It seems they were unaware of the potential dangers as they cheekily titled the post, "Pictures of me close to some wild animals and one from far away."
The "one from far away" appears to reference the bighorn sheep shot, as the rest of the pictures appear to be in the 20-50 feet range if not closer.
Looking at it charitably, a couple of the final photos of bear cubs could be misleading due to some high-level equipment. That certainly can't be the case for the numerous selfies and shots with other tourists that laid bare how close the group was.
While bear cubs certainly look cute and huggable, there are many instances of them getting aggravated and violent when humans intrude on their space. The adult grizzly bears can run extremely fast and mother bears can also be fiercely protective of their cubs. The photographer was definitely taking a huge risk in getting as close as they did.
The National Park Service (NPS) recommends that tourists "never approach, crowd, pursue, or displace bears." While parks set their own rules for a safe distance, the NPS pointed out Yellowstone prescribes 300 feet, while Shenandoah recommends 200 feet.
Additionally, when it comes to mother bears, the NPS prescribes extra caution, imploring visitors to "never place yourself between a mother and her cub, and never attempt to approach them." Doing so causes the chance of a violent encounter to "escalate greatly."
These interactions are also dangerous to bears, who might get euthanized after human-induced interactions lead them to more aggressive behavior. Commenters on Reddit were baffled by the photographer's decisions.
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Absolutely 👍 One wrote: "You chose to stay closest to the animals that might like an extra dinner consisting of human but the goat was to be seen from a distance? You are lucky to be alive, treasure that luck and don't go near big wild animals anymore."
"That is a real dangerous photo," another remarked. "You know they run up to 40mph? How fast are you?"
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