For some people, taking a trip to a national park can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that they want to make the most of. In some cases, they may even push the limits and skirt the rules in order to capture a memorable moment.
In a post via Tourons of Yellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone), one frustrated Instagram user uploaded a clip of a Yellowstone National Park-area visitor who appeared to be feeding a female elk.
The video shows a person inside of a truck who is seen closely interacting with the animal. They also appear to be petting it. "Please do not feed OR touch the park animals! I can't believe that has to be said to anyone," the post reads.
Though elk can seem docile and even friendly to humans, they present a danger because of their unpredictability. As noted by the U.S. Forest Service, offering any kind of food to elk can be dangerous to both humans and the animals. Feeding wildlife can teach them to view humans as a food source. This can greatly increase the potential for unprovoked attacks that may cause serious injury.
Interacting with wildlife can appear to be harmless, but actions such as feeding or getting too close can have detrimental effects. These interactions can cause stress, alter natural behaviors, increase the risk of injury and disease transmission, and even lead to the euthanasia of animals.
In the comments section, most users criticized the actions of the tourists in the video.
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"This is unacceptable behavior," one noted.
"There will be a huge ticket for that," a second user said.
Another commenter took that idea to a whole other level, writing: "They should fine them and ban them from all national parks for a couple of years. It should be a hefty fine like $10,000 for the first offense and if they do it again permanently banning them."
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