Welp, that’s just asking for it.
Every day, nearly a million people file into the various national parks around the country, and every day, there’s inevitably a number of morons in the bunch.
Part of the thrill of going to a national park is encountering nature in a way that you never have before. Grizzly bears, bison, elk, wolves, deer… you can see a wide variety of species in parks like Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain National Park, but the number one thing to keep in mind is safety.
Most parks recommend that you stay at least 100 yards from grizzly bears…. yeah, a hundred yards, the size of a football field. Why? Because if a bear decides to charge you, it’ll be on your ass in a hurry.
These are wild animals and we all need to treat them like it.
Grizzly bears are certified killers. They will shred you, bite you, and throw you around. If they get ahold of you, it will be slow and painful. The thing is… they don’t go straight for the kill, they will straight up beat the hell out of you.
Grizzlies are generally not super aggressive towards humans unless provoked, whether it’s protection of their cubs, or their food.
The one thing they hate, like many meat-eating animals, is when something else is around their food. If you ever come across a half-eaten and buried rotten animal just get out of there as quickly as possible. It means there’s a bear around and you best believe he will do the same to you if it catches you around its food.
These tourists clearly did not get the memo in Grand Teton National Park as a group pulled over roadside to get out and watch a grizzly feeding only a few feet away. As the grizzly tears into an elk in the ditch, a crowd gathers around.
One mother actually gets her children to come closer…
The stupidity hurts.
Really, as much as I would love for these folks to learn a hard lesson about wildlife and bear safety, I still don’t want to see a video pop up of a grizzly mauling. It’s just not cool.
Don’t be like these people.
Yellowstone Tourist Saves Child From Being Gored By Bison
Play stupid games… win stupid prizes.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that getting close to wildlife at Yellowstone National Park is incredibly dangerous, for both yourself and the wildlife.
On top of that, you can face jail time for messing with the wildlife at the park.
Of course, even with the park at half capacity… idiots abound.
People choose not to listen, and are willing to risk their safety and their criminal record for the brief feeling and satisfaction of saying you “messed with an animal at Yellowstone.”
Here’s exhibit A.
According to NBC Montana, a small group of bozo visitors (with a small child) approached a bison yesterday, and needless to say, the bison did not want to be bothered, because it charged right back at the visitors.
In the footage, you can see the bison charge two adults and a child, with one of the adults bailing on the child and running for safety. Tell me why the adults always put their kids in danger and then run away when the bison charges? Blows my mind…
Thankfully, right before the child was about to be railroaded by the charging bison, he’s lifted out of harms way by one of the other adults who seems to take a horn in the back in the process.
The bison ended up lifting the man off the ground, and it looks like it may have just got his shirt or jacket, but it’s hard to tell. He may very well have taken a nice jab to the back. Either way, hopefully it was enough for them to learn a lesson.
And of course, the two morons who left the kid high and dry are still standing around like the danger is over. Unreal…
Towards the end of the video, some genius hits the bison with bear spray, even though they’re the ones pestering the bison.
Granted, it appears they are on a designed walking path, but still… you see all the other people in the background standing very far away? There’s a good reason for that…
This could potentially lead to jail time, as a woman who tried to mess with a grizzly bear earlier this year at Yellowstone (shocker, the bear charged at her) landed herself four days in jail for her actions.
I guess we’ll just have to stay tuned.
Yellowstone National Park Recovery Will Cost Billions
Yellowstone National Park re-opened its south loop last Wednesday to visitors. With several entrances to the park closed for recovery and reconstruction, the park experienced slowdowns with heavy traffic and back-up, though employees of the park say that the majority of those issues have now been resolved.
According to the National Park Services (NPS), the re-opening day held less than 5,000 vehicles on a day that would typically have over 10,000 cars visiting the park. The reduction of numbers was a planned change by NPS that allowed only cars with the last numerical license plate digit being odd to enter on odd days of the month, and vice-versa with even numbers and even days of the month. This alternating license plate system is expected to continue throughout the summer tourist season.
These drastic changes to one of the nation’s most popular attractions comes on the heels of record rainfall in the area that led to major flooding.
This flooding damaged infrastructure such as roadways, bridges, trails, and powerlines within the park—in addition, community members and wildlife have also experienced the negative side effects of the flooding.
Recovery predictions now range as high as $1 billion, as Yellowstone officials and the NPS begin to make plans for moving forward. Not only is the list of repairs extensive including repair and rebuild of roads, bridges, sewer systems, and other facilities, but the higher costs of conservation must be factored in to the park’s decisions.
Additionally, efforts to maintain wildlife patterns and migration patterns also have top-tier consideration in the plans for reconstruction.
Superintendent Cam Sholly is well aware of the difficult road ahead, no pun intended:
“This is not going to be an easy rebuild. I don’t think it’s going to be smart to invest potentially, you know, tens of millions of dollars, or however much it is, into repairing a road that may be subject to seeing a similar flooding event in the future.”
Support for a Disaster Relief Bill in Congress is priority, but in the meantime several relief funds have been established for donation including the Southwest Montana Relief Fund and the Carbon County Disaster Relief Fund.
The National Parks Conservation Association is also set to host an in-person fundraising event including a silent auction in Bozeman, Montana today. Virtual bids are also being taken and some auction items include a Yellowstone Bourbon Collection and a year’s supply of Cabot’s cheeses.
9-Year-Old Girl Gets Launched By Bison At Yellowstone National Park
Good God, people…
It should go without saying, but that’s why you don’t get close to bison.
For like the 10,000th time, they’re not cows and you’re not at a petting zoo… you’re at Yellowstone National Park, home to arguably the United States’ most lethal collection of animals.
Bison, wolves, elk, bears, and plenty more, are all capable of killing you, and believe it or not, it’s bears or wolves that hurt people the most. It’s actually bison that cause the most injuries at Yellowstone.
Why? People like this…
Bigger than you think, faster than you think, and freakishly powerful, bison will think nothing of running you down, plowing you over, or if you’re a 9-year-old Florida girl… launching you to the moon.
Back in 2019, the girl was part of a tourist group of about 50 people near Observation Point Trail, near the iconic Old Faithful Geyser. According to reports from park staff, the group got within 5-10 feet of the bison and were close for approximately 20 minutes before the charge.
When her family was charged, everybody scattered, leaving the 9-year-old high and dry (way to go dad), and the bison locked eyes on the young girl. Running her down in a matter of seconds, the bison struck her with its big and powerful head, and lifted her high into the air.
Thankfully, the little girl was treated and released from a park medical clinic and seemingly had no real injuries save for some bumps and bruises, but the situation could’ve much, much worse.
Hopefully dad learned a valuable lesson about wildlife… and keeping an eye on his kids.
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