Yellowstone tourists simply refuse to heed warnings from the National Park Service. If you’ve ever wondered how you could go viral online fast, getting dangerously close to a wild animal at Yellowstone National Park seems to work like a charm. To be clear… you shouldn’t ever approach something like a bison for “internet clout.” In fact, there’s really no circumstance in which you should.
Tourists that do decide to press their luck are often referred to as “tourons” (tourist morons), since they have a knack for putting themselves in harm’s way while visiting a nature area. And though the National Park Service warns that people should stay at least 25 yards away from bison (and 100 yards away from more dangerous animals), the guy in this video decided to get an up-close look at this bison grazing in Yellowstone.
And he got a better look alright. Because of his ill-advised move, the man got to see what a bison looks like as it runs after you at full sprint. Even with bison generally weighing somewhere around 2,000 pounds, they can reach speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. The one in this video didn’t get up to that speed… but it certainly could have.
Some others that were standing nearby tried to warn the man before he ignorantly approached the beast. One person can be heard saying “Do not get that close, you are an idiot.” Imagine hearing that and then still doing the idiot-worthy thing. Not only is this person not the sharpest tool in the shed… he must suffer from selective hearing as well.
Like clockwork, the man entered into the bison’s personal space, and the big ol’ animal decided to reinforce that imaginary boundary. In the blink of an eye, the beast went shifted gears from grazing mode to charging mode. Not even the tree branch being stuck on its forehead slowed down the bison (maybe that irritant made the bison even more aggressive?).
The only thing that did stop the bison was… itself.
Fortunately for the guy who may or may not have had a death wish, the bison decided to hit him with what’s called a bluff charge. And if you really think about it, what a thoughtful gesture from the wild animal, eh? At the very least, that guy deserved to be knocked down on his butt. I’m not going to sit here and wish ill upon him (others in the comment section did plenty of that), but something has to make these type of people learn a lesson.
“Tourons of National Parks” is once again doing their part, and using the video to try and inform those who could fall under the category of “touron” to stay away from the animals:
“Another touron getting too close to a bison! Try to keep at least 25 yards from the bison in Yellowstone! Keeping a safe distance of at least 25 yards from bison is crucial because they are wild animals and can be unpredictable.”
Funny that the bison are considered unpredictable… but “touron behavior” is as predictable as it gets.
