"Danger: Do Not Approach Wildlife" feels like a simple direction to follow from a sign. As a recently captured video shows, apparently, it's not!
Instagram account TouronsOfYellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone), which highlights poor tourist behavior, recently shared a striking example of visitors defying a sign that was literally in the shot.
In the short video, from Instagrammer Truman West (@trumanwest), a trio of tourists approach a wild bison to take a photo. The closest one of the group appears to be only about 10 feet away from the sitting animal
The caption says the video took place "just outside of the Hamilton General Store at Old Faithful," which is adjacent to the park.
The ironic part of the video is that the aforementioned sign, which forbids the very behavior the video depicts, is in the foreground of the shot. The sign even has an illustration of a bison.
This might be near the top of the most blatant rule-breaking captured by an onlooker, but it's far from the first.
Whether it's getting close to take a picture or to feed them, many tourists just can't help themselves when around wild animals.
In one sense, you can understand the urge. These are spectacular animals, and who doesn't want to interact with them or get a great shot to share on social media? That being said, the rules against approaching wild animals exist for a reason.
These animals can feel threatened by the presence of humans and pose a danger to tourists. Bison, in particular, have injured more humans than any other animal, according to the Park.
Similarly, tourists present a danger to them, as vets and rangers have had to euthanize animals who interacted with misbehaving humans. Feeding and interacting with them can also make them more reliant on humans and more aggressive in seeking human food.
Commenters on Instagram were baffled and angered by the rogue tourists.
"What part of the sign couldn't they understand?" one asked.
"Maybe someone should tell him about the zoom feature on his phone," another suggested.
Many others wanted consequences for so brazenly ignoring the rules. "They should be arrested and a hefty fine," one commenter proposed.
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