Maybe it's because we grow up with movies and TV shows featuring friendly, talking animals, but some people seem to develop a distorted sense of reality around wildlife.
A shocking viral video, shared by the popular Instagram account Tourons of National Parks (@touronsofnationalparks), puts that dangerous confusion on full display as a crowd of tourists swarms a wild black bear at Mount Rainier.
The user who captured the video described the chaotic scene in the caption.
"This bear was on the side of the road and people were running up, across the road, and then standing 5-10ft away to take pictures," they wrote. "There was even a lady who hustled across the road with her two kids, one of whom was eating an apple, to get a picture with it."
The problem is that this behavior flagrantly ignores basic safety rules and puts both the tourists and the bear in extreme danger. The National Park Service has clear guidelines for a reason, advising visitors to stay at least 100 yards away from predators such as bears and wolves. Getting just a few feet away, as seen in the video, is a recipe for disaster.
Sadly, this kind of dangerous behavior isn't rare. Another unbelievable encounter showed Yellowstone National Park tourists getting far too close to a wolf. In a separate occurrence at the same park, a professional photographer captured a dangerous scene as tourists blocked the path of a grizzly bear.
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It happens with other animals, too, as another video showed reckless tourists tempting fate with a herd of elk. What many people don't realize is that these actions also endanger the wildlife. An animal that attacks a person, even if it was first threatened, is often euthanized.
Commenters were filled with frustration and concern for the bear's well-being.
"Give wild animals space," one user said. "Crying in the night"
"The poor bear smh. No respect for anything in this world any longer," another wrote.
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A third user summed up the danger perfectly: "That bear could shred you up in no time at all. Plus he can run up to 40mph and rip apart a car. This is not a play time zoo. It is real."
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