A nature-lover encountered a baffling sight while hiking, and had to share the moment with the community at r/Yosemite.
"It's frustrating and sad to see people ignore the guard rails and sit on the rocks for pictures," wrote the original poster. "As he slid down to get a better angle for the photo,I got more nervous just looking at him. These barriers are there for a reason and not just for decoration !One slip could change everything."
The poster included a picture of a visitor posing for a photo right at the edge of a cliff at Nevada Fall. Nevada Fall is a 594-foot waterfall in Yosemite. Visitors regularly break rules and swim at the top of the falls for the sake of selfies. While most emerge unscathed, deaths at the falls have occurred. One was a tourist in 2018. A group of three was swept over nearby Vernal Falls in 2011. Yosemite has been host to over 150 fatalities since 2014.
National parks have barriers up as sensible safety precautions, but following them has major environmental benefits, too. Wildlife habitat has been steadily degraded by human use, and protected natural areas are no different. By going off-path, visitors wear away important vegetation that animals rely on for food and shelter.
This behavior also extends the sphere of human influence further into the natural habitat. Simply by being noisy, smelly, and visible, people can scare animals away from useful natural areas. This deprives wildlife of feeding and mating opportunities. On the flip side, larger, more aggressive animals may become accustomed to human presence, not see them as a threat, and even see them as a feeding opportunity.
The Reddit community was baffled that Yosemite visitors would be willing to put themselves at that much risk for a photo opp.
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"I just don't get it , nature is beautiful but unforgiving one mistake and your done," said one commenter.
"Honestly, how much more Yosemite are you ingesting by hopping that fence?" replied another.
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