A video showing a tourist and their leashed cat on the boardwalk of a steaming hot spring sparked outrage online, with commenters ridiculing the person for not following park rules.
Instagrammer TouronsOfYellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone) posted the video, which shows a person lying on the boardwalk beside their leashed cat, mere inches from scalding hot water.
"Pets are not allowed on the boardwalks of the Grand Prismatic Spring … including this leashed cat," TouronsOfYellowstone explained in a caption.
Commenters were quick to condemn the behavior.
"Animal endangerment at its finest!" exclaimed one Instagrammer.
"I would never take a pet to Yellowstone," chimed in another. "My dog had a sitter when I took my grandkids camping."
At 300 feet across and 160 feet deep, Grand Prismatic Spring is Yellowstone National Park's largest hot spring and the third largest hot spring in the world, according to NASA. The center of the pool reaches a scalding 188 degrees Fahrenheit, too hot to support life.
"Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature," warned the National Park Service website.
The video is part of a broader conversation about people's seeming inability to respect nature and wildlife, particularly in national parks and other areas where humans and wildlife come into close proximity. This behavior puts humans and pets in danger, hurts wildlife, and causes environmental damage.
Although the National Park Service advises visitors to stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves and 25 yards away from all other animals, tourists frequently flout these rules, often in the hopes of getting that perfect shot for social media.
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Definitely 👍 On June 10, a bison gored a man at Yellowstone when a group of visitors approached the animal too closely, the National Park Service announced in a press release. Thankfully, the man suffered only minor injuries.
Such behavior does not just put humans and pets at risk of attack from threatened wildlife. Once an animal has attacked a person, it is often euthanized to prevent further attacks.
The presence of humans can negatively impact wildlife in other ways, too. For example, litter disrupts natural ecosystems and harms the animals that eat it, according to the NPS. Similarly, human visitors and their pets can pass deadly diseases to wildlife.
"Sadly, there are many examples of wildlife in parks dying from diseases given to them by pets and humans," said the NPS. "For example, heartworm from dogs and cats can kill wildlife such as foxes, wolves, coyotes, bobcats and mountain lions."
Common human diseases can also kill wildlife.
"Black-footed ferrets die from the flu if humans are sick and too close," warned the NPS.
By pointing out the dangers of not following posted rules and calling out those who violate them, TouronsOfYellowstone raises awareness about the need to show greater respect for nature and wildlife.
Perhaps such an awareness would help people recognize the need to be more environmentally conscious in their day-to-day lives, too.
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