Visiting National Parks in the United States is an amazing experience for local travelers and international tourists. However, too often the safety of both human and animal life is jeopardized by park visitors who disrespect the rules. A scary video shared on Reddit shows just how dangerous these interactions can be.
The clip, shared to r/Montana, shows a family on what appears to be a grassland boardwalk right next to a wild bison. Unfortunately, what happens next is scary but not unexpected when you are so close to a wild animal.
The bison charges the group, and the child seems to run from the animal and then gets rescued by one of the adults. However, the family does not escape unscathed — the bison appears to headbutt one adult who is carrying the child to safety. Luckily, this one attack was enough for the animal, which then moves away.
Harrowing clips like this are all too common, with tourists being much too bold around wild animals. One person was bitten by a coyote, another family had their car damaged, and in one tragic case, a young bison had to be euthanized.
Nearly every National Park website has a page on animal safety. Yellowstone has a three-minute video and a list of rules and regulations on its website.
It advises, "The safest (and often best) view of wildlife is from inside a car. Always stay at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves, and at least 25 yards (23 m) away from all other animals, including bison and elk."
While the parks have been set up to give people access to nature, the current volume of visitors was likely not understood in the late 1800s when the parks were established.
NBC reported back in 2010 about this issue, "The unnatural footprint left by hundreds of millions of park visitors is growing, environmentalists say. Hikers wander off marked trails, trampling vegetation. Vehicles clog park roads and sully the air with tailpipe emissions. Tourists leave behind water bottles and other scraps of litter."
Redditors had a lot to say about this clip.
One person wrote, "These folks get heavily fined, right? I mean, ignoring ALL THE WARNINGS yourself is one thing, but bringing a kid too…"
Another heated commenter said, "Ban them from all National parks for life, plus a huge fine. Soon our parks are gonna be closed off to all the unselfish park goers because of these selfish d*** heads."
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