Yellowstone Tourists With Kids Caught On Video Getting Dangerously Close to a Wild Animal

Wildlife and human civilization often do not align with each other. However, humans sometimes don't seem to understand the need for this separation, as evidenced by this video uploaded by Tourons of Yellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone). The video showed several tourists near a bison in Yellowstone National Park. Not only adults, but even young children are being shown roaming around the fence. The post questioned the logic behind this ease around a bison. Several people in the comment section expressed concerns about the group's safety, and also pointed out how commonplace such situations have become.

The video zooms in on the bison inside the fence. The animal seems calm; however, the caption claims that the bison's expressions shouldn't be trusted when it comes to the safety of tourists. "You are NOT safe behind a little fence & that bison probably hates you! Back away from the bison! Move along, people!" the caption warns. Furthermore, the caption claims that the incident on video is not unique and happens quite often in the premises of the national park. "I could tell you 50 different touron actions I saw today alone," the person writing the caption claimed. The post also had a picture of visitors close to the bison, without any fences. Bison attacks in national parks, though uncommon, are not something that hasn't happened before.

In early October 2022, during her visit to Caprock Canyons State Park, Rebecca Clark got attacked by a wild bison and managed to capture it on camera, according to CNN. “It was so fast. He hit me in the back, rammed me, hooked me, then flipped me up and face forward into the mesquite bush,” Clark shared. Fortunately, a park ranger rescued her from the situation. She had a three-inch gash in her back due to the attack and had to be admitted to the hospital for six days.  These animals are generally peaceful, but if agitated, can take a violent turn; hence, experts always advise maintaining a safe distance. “You know, I wasn’t as diligent as I should have been about knowing about bison before I went hiking,” Clark shared after the incident.

Admin of Tourons of Yellowstone shares the same thought process and added that actions like the one shown in the footage put the mental aptitude of visitors in question. "Maybe they should do educational tour on/wellness tests at all the entrances- I don’t know what’s going on with people lately, but it’s getting real bonkers in the park," the admin wrote. The admin ended the caption by suggesting that all the visitors stay safe and not partake in such risky behavior.

The comment section agreed with the admin and provided their takes on the situation. "Should have to complete a 10-question multiple-choice quiz before entering," @mckennaryser also believes that a filtering process like this should be introduced for entering the national park. "Sadly, when a tragedy occurs, people's first reaction is 'shoulda, coulda, woulda!' " @anne_elliot_fan points out that most people would lament not taking precautions after the tragedy, rather than being safe in the moment.