A recent video on Instagram showed a passerby intervening when a tourist made the poor choice to approach a herd of bison in Yellowstone National Park.
The video was shared by Tourons of National Parks (@touronsofnationalparks), an account dedicated to collecting similar clips of guests behaving irresponsibly in these shared spaces. In most cases, however, no one steps in to stop them.
This time, the person taking the video had something to say to the man standing only about 10-15 feet from several bison.
"Sir, you are way too close," the cameraman said while approaching the tourist in a vehicle.
The tourist seemed not to get the message; though he said, "OK," he took only a couple of steps back.
"No, get out of the — go!" the cameraman said. "Are you kidding me? What are you thinking?"
With enough prompting, the tourist did stroll away, but his casual attitude remains remarkable.
Despite this man's complete lack of concern, bison are dangerous animals. They're almost as tall as the man in the video and significantly bulkier, and though they are herbivores with no interest in eating other creatures, that doesn't mean they won't attack for other reasons.
For example, a bison can charge at the drop of a hat. That's even more likely when there are calves around, as there are in this video.
Sadly, too many visitors to national parks and other natural spaces are casual about the way they interact with wildlife. They approach much closer than the National Park Service's recommended distance of 75 feet from most animals and 300 feet from carnivores, and they behave in ways that the animals may find unpredictable and threatening.
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Save $1,000 this year 💸 This can lead to unsafe encounters that are harmful for both people and animals. Not only can injuries result, but animals may also need to be euthanized if they become too used to interacting with humans in this way.
Commenters appreciated the passerby in this video for taking a stand.
"You have to call them out," one user said.
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