It's never a bad idea to give an animal some space in the great outdoors.
One group of tourists at Estes Park in Colorado, however, weren't really interested in doing that. The Tourons Of National Parks (@touronsofnationalparks) Instagram account shared a video of several people standing around three elk.
The person filming left plenty of room for the elks to relax while the group of tourists moved around the animals.
Estes Park is pretty clear about how people should behave around its wildlife.
According to its website, people should stay at least 75 feet away from elk at all times. If you're able to make a thumbs-up, extend your arm, and see the elk above your thumb after closing one eye, you're definitely too close. Make sure to back away slowly until your thumb covers the elk.
Estes Park even offers a way to get kids to understand the distance. Tell them to imagine two school buses in between them and the elk as you all slowly move away. Doing so can make the moment teachable and memorable.
Giving animals space allows you and them to stay safe. You can avoid injuries, and the animal can stay alive and avoid euthanization, which sometimes happens after human-animal interactions.
Being aware of your surroundings and belongings outside is also crucial to keep the outdoors safer and avoid park shutdowns.
Officials had to close Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska for a few days last September because of two bear attacks. While it's unclear why the attacks happened, it's a good reminder that wild animals can be dangerous.
As for the people in the Instagram video, the comment section was filled with frustrated and annoyed remarks.
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Save $1,000 this year 💸 "Ignorance at its finest!" one person exclaimed.
"Those elk are like 4x the size of those people," another commenter said, punctuating their sentence with a skull emoji.
A third person wrote, "What those people don't seem to get is wildlife is unpredictable."
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