In an Instagram video posted by the account Tourons of Yellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone), a tourist visiting Yellowstone National Park disturbs a resting bison in its natural habitat.
The tourist asked if they could ride the wild bison and scared the animal away from where it was resting, sparking outrage among viewers.
"You're not very friendly, are you?" the tourist said in the video. They also yelled loudly in an attempt to get its attention and asked the bison if they could pet it. The bison then got up to leave.
This video comes at a time when environmental degradation is a major player in the rising global temperature. While this typically concerns the destruction of land that could disturb natural ecosystems, the provoking of animals contributes to ecological harm.
Animals are likely to be victims of forced relocation if they feel in danger where a disturbance happened. This can result in vulnerability to new predators and a lack of access to the foods they rely on from their ecosystem, which can lead to population decline.
While bison are not threatened by extinction, they lack genetic diversity, and there has been a loss of natural selection forces, threatening their ecological restoration.
The U.S. Department of the Interior has a Bison Conservation Initiative that seeks to protect the bison herd. Tourists who displace bison jeopardize these efforts.
Conservationists do not recommend approaching bison, not just to ensure their safety, but also because bison can be dangerous to humans. Yellowstone National Park specifies that if you encounter a bison on foot, give them space of 25 yards or more.
The National Park Service also wrote that "learning to coexist with these magnificent animals" is important. "Lack of tolerance for wild bison … poses one of the greatest obstacles to the continued conservation of America's national mammal."
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Instagram commenters expressed outrage over the tourist's actions and the potential harm caused to the bison.
"That person should be banned from all national parks for life!" one viewer wrote.
"I don't understand why people think it's ok to try to touch these animals," another added. "It isn't a petting zoo."
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