The years and years of relentless “tourons” has finally led one Yellowstone National Park photographer to call for extreme change.
Safe to say that people who visit national parks and other outdoor sites from… let’s just say more urban areas, generally have no idea how to interact with wild animals. Here’s a clue for those that aren’t sure how to act around wildlife – you interact with them by not interacting with them at all.
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.
I feel as though I sound like a broken record saying that, because anytime a viral video from a national park pops up, I include a variation of that paragraph above. I’m doing so in hopes that my words will reach one of the people that may not be informed on how to act around wild animals. But I’ve been fighting the good fight for many years now, and judging by the continuous and steady flow of “touron” footage still coming out of national parks… it’s not working.
And understandably, the lack of respect for wildlife is really starting to get on the nerves of wildlife guides and those who truly care about the national parks.
Trent Sizemore, a photographer from the Yellowstone area, took to social media early this week to suggest that… well, it be harder for people to visit national parks. Seems harsh, I know… but he makes a good argument. The wildlife and photography enthusiast used a video of a wolf in Yellowstone National Park to convey his thoughts:
“It was 7:30 a.m. in the morning and cars were flying by on their way in to Yellowstone, completely oblivious that two cars were stopped for for this wolf trotting right next to the road.
Every single day, even now in mid-October, I’m tailgated and passed on double yellow lines by the absolute worst kind of tourists.
It’s not even just tourists. I’m being passed while doing the speed limit by local guide companies that know better, but they’re in such a hurry.”
In other words, Sizemore is witnessing a shocking lack of respect for wildlife and the national park as a whole.
With nothing getting better, and frankly, things only seeming to get worse, the Yellowstone-area resident is suggested a steep and protective change is necessary for the future of the national park – and the NPS altogether. He believes that tourists should only be able to access Yellowstone through reservations, and through guided-only tours.
It’d be a stark difference from how national parks currently operate, and like Sizemore even conceded, there may not be enough rangers to sufficiently meet the demand of visitors. But the wildlife photographer sees it as one of the only ways forward… if we as a whole want to protect our national parks and the animals that call them home:
“Locals and visitors both are getting ticketed for harassing wildlife. How hard is this? Why are they even here? Honestly, a reservation and guided tour only system may be the only solution we have to curb the bad behavior I see in the parks lately.
Numbers of visitors far outweigh the park’s rangers ability to do their job. I don’t care who you vote for, they’re not going to fund the parks how they should be.”
