Photographers and Tourists Are Getting Way Too Close to Bison
Visitors to Yellowstone Park are getting too close to bison in pursuit of a great photo — with some having to flee to avoid getting gored.
One incident (above video) saw a woman having to take avoiding action after she was posing with a large bison when the it charged her causing her to scream and run.
The incident took place on a boardwalk in Yellowstone National Park and she was very lucky not to get injured. Park rangers suggest staying at least 25 yards from all wildlife including buffalo, elk, and deer.
Tourons of Yellowstone
An Instagram account dedicated to “tourons” (a tourist and a moron) in Yellowstone Park showcases some of the worst offenders. It boasts over a quarter of a million followers.
It is illegal to “willfully remaining, approaching, and photographing wildlife within 100 yards” in Yellowstone but as these videos show: the tourons are paying no heed.
In the below video, taken at Biscuit Basin, a selfie-seeking woman is seen carelessly standing right next to a huge bison. The person who filmed it told Tourons of Yellowstone: “She was trying to pet it. It was insane. Like inches. Her arrogance was so infuriating. People were telling her to move away and she kept posing for like 10 minutes.”
In another video, a photographer is seen crouching down as a young bison approaches him.
“This touron got lucky. This bison is still pretty young, If that was an older bull he would have most likely been knocked into Timbuktu,” writes Tourons of Yellowstone.
“Even a female bison could kick his a***. Please keep at least 25 yards from these bison, there is absolutely no reason to be this close, do you really need a pic up into the bison’s nostrils⁉️ The touron’s license plate was sent over to the park along with this video.”
The page adds that a bison’s tail being up means it is about to use the restroom or about to attack.
Bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and are capable of throwing fully grown adults into the air “like rag dolls,” that’s according to the National Park Service (NPS).
Bison are familiar with people and cars in Yellowstone but can become easily agitated when they feel threatened. A 2018 study showed that on average, bison injured one or two people in Yellowstone every year.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
