An idiotic tourist walking right up to a bison in Badlands National Park to snap a selfie? That right there is a tale as told as time… or at least as old as how long the selfie has been around.
Depending on where you look, some say the selfie has been around since the 1800s, while others date it back to around the 1990s and early 2000s. Regardless, at some point people started wanting to take selfies with wild animals, and it has never really gone well. Worst case scenario: you get attacked. Best case scenario: you have photographic proof that you are an idiot.
If you are looking for some examples of ill-fated selfie snapping, look no further than this big bison running off a camera-wielding tourist, or this woman who tried to line up a picture with a goat. Every video starts out the same, and sure enough, every clip usually ends with the person regretting that they tried to take a selfie.
The National Park Service advises tourists to stay 25 yards away from animals that are deemed “non-violent,” like bison, elk, and other creatures that tend to be relatively docile. When it comes to bears, wolves, and other apex predators, the NPS warns park goers to keep a football-field-distance between them and the animals.
In other words… you shouldn’t be within selfie-taking distance.
This touron (tourist that’s a moron) in Badlands National Park in South Dakota got the “Tourons of National Parks” treatment after they walked right up to a bison, turned their back to it, and then held their phone up to get that perfect selfie angle. For one, you shouldn’t ever turn your back on a wild animal… that’s just asking. Two – and this might be a newsflash to most out there – pictures of wild animals by themselves are much prettier to look at then selfies.
In the video below, a woman and her family can be seen walking towards a bison standing stationary. It wasn’t bothering anyone. It wasn’t in the way. It was just being a bison. For some reason, the person took that as an invitation to disregard every National Park warning (and common sense) and walk right up to the 2,000 pound beast.
Nothing like risking your life for the ‘Gram:
“Tourons in the Badlands. Be bison aware! Keep at least 100 feet from the bison.”
Sheesh… they are lucky the bison didn’t snap. It could have easily turned around and enforced the 25-yard boundary itself.
There wasn’t much sympathy for the “tourons” in the comment section of the post. Some offered up advice, but other social media users admitted that they were rooting for the bison to teach the selfie-taking tourist a lesson:
“Always keep your car between you and the bison!”
“The situational awareness of a worm after a spring rain.”
“Rooting for the bison, as always.”
“People just won’t ever learn.”
“This one should’ve been flipped, not the grandpa in Yellowstone.”
I agree with that last comment… Carl didn’t deserve it.
