Onlookers stunned as tourists' dangerous encounter with wild animal is caught on camera: 'Let's go save their life'

Bison have been living in Yellowstone for thousands of years. Tourists, on the other hand, have only been visiting since it became the world's first national park in 1872. 

With all that history, you would think that people would have learned to respect the area of astounding natural beauty and the animals that call it home. 

Unfortunately, visitors are regularly spotted breaking rules all over the park. One even decided to take a big risk, getting much too close to North America's largest land mammal. 

In a video from ViralHog (@ViralHog) shared by Unofficial Networks, a couple are shown getting up close and personal with a bison. Luckily, they are on the designated boardwalks, though it's not uncommon to see folks wandering off sanctioned pathways. 

After taking a few pictures, one of them then reaches out in an attempt to touch the animal. 

It's not clear from the clip if they successfully touched the bison before snatching their hand back. From the angle of the video, it appears that the creature's tail flicked out and hit their hand, just like it would an unwanted fly. 

After this rebuttal from the bison, the couple moved off, unlikely to have truly learned their lesson. The video was filmed by someone else at the park who obviously understood the power of these animals. At one point, you can hear them say, "Let's go save their life," and the sound of footsteps moving away. 

While they may appear fluffy and cute, these massive animals can be quite dangerous. According to a Utah State University study from 2019, bison cause more injuries in Yellowstone than any other animal. There are tons of clips of tourists getting too close and even getting charged by the territorial creature. 

Yellowstone National Park has many resources dedicated to park safety, including a section on bison. Its safety website explains, "Bison are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans. Always stay at least 25 yards (23 meters) away from bison."

These people were able to walk away safely, but they took much too big a risk. 

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Hopefully, the National Park Service's continued educational programming reminds visitors that these natural areas are meant to be respected. Visiting a national park may be a great thing to do over spring break, but it needs to be treated with more deference than a trip to Disneyland.

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