As the peak of the summer park-visiting season gets underway, there have already been a number of incidents of human-wildlife interactions that ended poorly — whether by mistake or because park guests purposefully disregarded rules to be funny or get that social media shot.
In April 2024, an Idaho Falls man was hospitalized and later arrested after kicking a bison at the entrance to Yellowstone’s West Entrance Road. Two months later, an 83-year-old woman was gored after a bison snuck up behind her at the park’s Storm Point Trail and, according to a description of the incident, “lifted her about a foot off the ground with his horns.”
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As part of several announcements and campaigns in which it reminds visitors of animal safety, the National Park Service (NPS) told people to “believe in yourself like visitors who believe they can pet a bison.”
Too many park visitors keep doing stupid things around bison
The post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, quickly went viral with nearly five million views and 78,000 likes since the NPS is not known to put out humorous PSAs in a corporate strategy that is more often taken on by fast-food companies and airlines.
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“Bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal,” the NPS wrote in an announcement after the accident at Storm Point Trail. “Bison are not aggressive animals but will defend their space when threatened. They are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans.”
As part of its more in-depth announcement on wildlife safety, the NPS also put out seven tips that include staying at least 100 yards (91 meters) from bears and wolves and 25 yards (23 meters) away from other wildlife as well as familiarizing oneself with the guidelines and food storage requirements specific to the park one plans to visit.
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‘Anything that smells like food is treated like food’
“Feeding wildlife in parks can make them come looking for more,” the NPS writes further. “To an animal, anything that smells like food is treated like food. Access to trash, and even crumbs left on picnic tables can attract them.”
And while the primary consideration is always one’s own safety, those who do not practice wildlife safety can also run into significant legal or financial problems. While Yoder’s case is still pending (he was charged with several counts including approaching and disturbing wildlife and being under the influence of alcohol), another visitor to the same park pled guilty to “willfully remaining, approaching, and photographing wildlife within 100 yards” in 2021.
The sentence was four days in custody, one year of unsupervised probation as well as a $1,000 fine to Yellowstone Forever Wildlife Protection Fund on top of $40 in court processing and assessment fees.
Two years later in the spring of 2023, a Hawaiian man named Clifford Walters also pleaded guilty to one count of “feeding, touching, teasing, frightening, or intentionally disturbing wildlife” at Yellowstone — as the park is home to more than 47 different species of animal and bird life, incidents of visitors acting badly around them there are particularly common.
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