Tourists in national parks aren't always the best at following the rules, especially when it comes to how close they can get to wild animals.
This was put on stark display with a post from Instagrammer touronsofyellowstone_2 (@touronsofyellowstone_2), which showed a group of tourists who had stepped out of their cars to surround and photograph a bear and its cubs crossing the road.
The bear and cubs were mere feet away from the tourists, and touronsofyellowstone_2 wrote, "In yellowstone. Mama griz with two cubs."
Other Instagram users were shocked at the tourists' lack of concern for the bears and themselves.
"I really don't understand this behavior," one person said.
Not only was the behavior from the tourists unwise, but it was also downright dangerous to surround a grizzly and its cubs. Grizzlies can run 35 to 40 miles per hour, so if the grizzly had charged one of the tourists, it would've reached them long before they had time to duck back into their cars or run.
Considering this bear had its cubs with it, the people surrounding it could have very easily provoked it into charging and injuring someone, especially if it felt its cubs were in danger.
Many human-wildlife encounters end poorly, with people heavily injured or even killed, and often these encounters end with wildlife authorities euthanizing the animal that attacked, whether people provoked it or not. When euthanization occurs, it reduces wildlife populations, which can lead to imbalances in the ecosystem that harm not only the environment but also humans.
Doing the opposite of what these tourists did is always the safest bet when it comes to wildlife. Rather than surround a deadly wild animal while standing feet away, Yellowstone advises tourists to stay at least 100 yards (300 feet) away, unless you are safely inside your car.
By following the rules, not only will you remain uninjured and alive, but so will bears and other wildlife.
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