A tourist in Breckenridge, Colorado, was in for a nasty shock when the moose she approached responded poorly to her advances.
In a short clip posted by the touronsofnationalparks account (@touronsofnationalparks) on Instagram, the woman in question followed a moose closely at its heels and addressed it rather loudly in her attempts to communicate. When the moose had enough, it turned and batted at her with its front hooves. Fortunately, it didn't appear as though the gesture physically harmed the tourist.
She must have "mistakenly thought she was the Moose whisperer," the account captioned the video, trying to make light of this unfortunate — and rather disappointing — situation.
After all, getting too close to unfamiliar wildlife is never a good idea. Moose, in particular, have a reputation for becoming aggressive and even deadly when provoked, thanks to the tremendous power they conceal behind an otherwise quiet and graceful appearance. If this tourist hadn't backed down in the end, she likely wouldn't have walked away unscathed.
On top of posing risks for offending humans, wildlife confrontations can prove stressful for the animals involved — and in many cases, a human-wildlife scuffle can lead to the animal's euthanization after the fact, even if its aggression was justified.
Sadly, these encounters are far more common than they should be, and the internet is churning with reports and short clips of tourists harassing moose, elk, foxes, birds, and more. To stay safe and encourage others to stay safe, abide by national park safety rules, keep your distance, and never confront wild animals unprompted — not even to feed them.
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Folks were dismayed by the tourist's behavior in Breckenridge, leaving frustrated comments under the original Instagram post.
"She has no idea how lucky she got (or about anything else for that matter)," one user snarked.
"Why is there such an epidemic of silly ridiculous people who think they are wild animal communicators?" another wrote.
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