A barefoot tourist was recently caught on video taunting a bison in Yellowstone National Park.

Posted on Instagram by the infamous Tourons of Yellowstone (@TouronsOfYellowstone) account, the footage, credited to Brittney Mathews via Storyful, shows a barefoot tourist standing less than 10 feet away from a massive bison with an active tail that keeps moving directly toward the tourist.

With the caption: “Almost another bison tossing in Yellowstone yesterday!! Do not approach the bison… try to keep back at least 25 yards!!”

As mentioned in the post, it is against the rules in Yellowstone to get within 25 yards of a bison or other large animals. Bison can be aggressive and charge without warning, especially when threatened, and have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal. It’s recommended to view them from your car, along the road, or with binoculars to always maintain a safe distance.

These incidents also endanger wildlife, as animals provoked into aggressive behavior may be euthanized.

We need to respect wildlife, especially endangered species, as they all play crucial roles in their ecosystem and contribute to biodiversity that protects us in return with a cleaner, safer future filled with diverse food and resources that they help sustain.

Bison, in particular, play a vital role in their ecosystem as engineers and grazers of Yellowstone. They are responsible for maintaining and creating grasslands, redistributing nutrients, increasing plant diversity and production, and reducing the impacts of the overheating planet, such as air pollution and extreme weather events like wildfires or storms.

Hundreds of users in the comments were predictably upset with the tourist, many even rooting for the bison.

“Never ever try to square up to a mammal mack truck,” one said.

“Needs to be fined and escorted out of the park,” another ruled.

“I’m glad he put his hand out cause that stopped the bison LOL,” one observed.

“I’m so sick of these people thinking they are the bison whisperers or somehow connected to these wild animals,” another said. “Leave the animals alone!”

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