According to the National Park Service, you must stay in your vehicle if you encounter a wildlife jam for your own safety and the safety of wild animals. But despite this common-sense warning, countless tourists still exit their vehicles when they see bison, which puts everyone in the vicinity at serious risk.
In a viral video, the Instagram account TouronsOfYellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone) shared a scene of a line of vehicles stuck behind a long bison jam approaching Bridal Veil Falls in Yellowstone National Park. The account wrote in the caption about a man shown who risks his life to take photos of the bison herd.
"From at least 20 plus cars back, he exits a vehicle walks along the mountain road berm holding an iPad over his head," according to the caption.
The account went on to explain the scene: "He reaches the herd of bison, who were being nudged forward by park law enforcement, and fearlessly stepped right up to the herd to get his shots. Stunned law enforcement officer says, 'You need to get 25 yards away,' at which point the man ends his filming and, so pleased with himself, returns to his car."
Research shows that bison injure more people than any other animal at Yellowstone, according to ScienceDirect. Getting out to take photos is the most common reason people approach bison, and they're getting closer to the wild animals than ever before to get the perfect shot. Common bison-related injuries include deep puncture wounds, blunt trauma, fractures, contusions, abrasions, and even death.
Animals that injure humans in national parks are at significant risk of being euthanized, resulting in the unnecessary deaths of innocent animals and long-term negative effects on the ecosystem.
The video is disturbing and sparked outrage among people across the internet.
"I literally gasped when one of the bisons turned towards him," one Instagram user wrote in the comments. "I thought for sure the guy was going to be charged at."
"When will people learn?!" another asked. "There are signs posted ALL OVER warning not to approach bison. At this point, you deserve what you get."
"Why can't there be a reporting system where someone takes a photo of the touron behaving poorly, their vehicle for identification and then share it with park officials," wondered another Instagrammer. "When the touron leaves the park at checkout, they're handed a citation as a lovely parting gift by the U.S. N.P. service?"
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