Getting dangerously close to wild animals is an entirely avoidable epidemic in this country.
The National Park Service is very close to having to post signs and billboards all over the place with their guidance on approaching wild animals. Even then, I still think we’d see tourists waltzing right up to the wildlife like they are visiting a petting zoo.
In case you didn’t know, the NPS advises tourists to stay 100 yards away from more dangerous animals like bears and wolves, and 25 yards away from less volatile wildlife like bison and moose. Elk also fall into that 25 yard range, and this video below from Rocky Mountain National Park is the perfect “what not to do” example of that guidance.
It’s estimated that over 280,000 elk live in Colorado, which is enough to give the state the honor of housing the largest concentrated population of elk in the world. That type of population brings in tourists from all over the planet, and one of the more popular places you’ll find elk and tourists sharing space is near Rocky Mountain National Park.
That’s also one of the destinations where idiotic tourists seem to frequent. Yellowstone National Park probably holds the record for most close encounters (there are even social media pages dedicated to dumb tourists at Yellowstone), but Rocky Mountain National Park isn’t far behind.
From my experience surfing the internet for the last couple of years, wherever wild animals are, overconfidently people trying to get close and/or petting them are too.
This tourist couple visiting Rocky Mountain National Park evidently broke a number of different rules. Based upon where they are taking pictures from, many assumed that the two individuals just parked right on the road (in a no passing zone) and got of their vehicle.
The camera later pans over to show that’s exactly what happened.
Then they got busy taking photos and even turning their backs to the large antlered animal (one of the number one no nos). Elk aren’t necessarily known to be aggressive, but there’s a reason why there’s a “wild” in front of wild animals. They can be unpredictable, and anything that’s out of their norm – like a couple standing way too close with their car running on the road nearby – could be all it takes to set an elk off.
Fortunately (depending on who you are rooting in this footage), this couple got away scot-free. The elk kept a level head and didn’t even hit the tourists with a bluff charge. Did they deserve one? You bet they did. They didn’t learn a lesson from the animal, but maybe they will when they see themselves posted all over the internet.
Take a look:
Definitely a contender for “Touron (Tourist Moron) Couple of the Year.”
Everyone in the comment section was quick to give the two picture-taking tourists a piece of their mind:
“Stopped their car in the road in a no passing zone, leave their car… beautiful.”
“I used to warn them, now I just keep driving and shake my head.”
“You can’t fix stupid.”
“I would love to hear a ‘charge’ trumpet.”
“Someone please explain WILDLIFE to tourists.”
“Tourist tossing season has begun.”
