Onlooker captures footage of tourists' reckless behavior at national park: 'People were swarming'

Tourons of National Parks (@touronsofnationalparks) recently shared some aggravating footage to its Instagram account.

"I was on Logan pass in Glacier and people were swarming every time they saw wildlife!" wrote contributor Amanda Genzlinger (@amandagenzlinger).

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Sure enough, the post's still photos and videos from the Montana park showed gaggles of tourists hounding wildlife.

There are a few problems with crowding animals like this. For one, it increases their stress levels. The animals then may not return to areas where they were disturbed to access resources like food, water, and mating opportunities.

This agitation can increase the odds of a violent encounter, especially if humans have already closed the distance toward fast-moving animals.

These tourists are also going off designated paths. A single group may not seem to cause significant damage by doing so. But visitors repeatedly going off-path can degrade habitat, reducing foliage that wildlife depends on for food and shelter.

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This situation can become even more problematic when food incentives are added to the mix. With shrinking natural habitat, and opportunities afforded by trash or direct offers from visitors, animals can develop unhealthy habits that rely on human activity. Animals may develop aggressive behavior if they lose their fear of humans as well, which hurts everyone involved.

Glacier Park managers have clear guidance for visitors to stay on established paths and keep distance from wildlife.

Sadly, this kind of behavior was familiar to the Instagram followers of Tourons of National Parks.

"You would not believe how terribly the 'Murikan tourons behave on safari in Africa. The number of times I personally witnessed them putting the driver & spotter in extreme danger," wrote one community member. "It was terrifying. We tried but they refused advice, warnings, pretty much ANYTHING that went against their plan was ignored."

"I remember my dad pulled over to look at a map in Yellowstone and by the time we left there was maybe 50 cars on either side of the road cause the dips***s thought we might've saw something," said another.