Yellowstone National Park is one of the most incredible places to see bison in their natural habitat and experience their iconic majesty from a distance.
However, many tourists still tempt fate and infringe upon a bison’s personal space just to get the perfect picture.
In an Instagram post to Tourons of Yellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone), a professional photographer shared a disturbing scene of a crowd gathered around a bison.
The photo shows a group of people standing on a boardwalk dangerously close to a bison inside the park.
“For context on that photo, it was at Old Faithful, and I had my professional gear on me, so that was taken from about 120 yards back on the boardwalk,” the OP wrote. “That hat ain’t a ranger hat. They were 10 feet from the bison.”
Instagram accounts like Tourons of Yellowstone are excellent tools for public education and awareness, informing people about the risks associated with wildlife encounters.
Unfortunately, instances of tourists approaching with animals and even posing with them are still far too common in parks and natural areas worldwide. The trend of tourists risking their safety for selfies and social media content puts both people and animals in danger.
With our changing global climate and increased habitat destruction, wild animals are already facing numerous challenges without the added harm caused by human involvement. If you care about our environment and love traveling to experience it first-hand, it’s crucial to keep a safe distance from animals and never feed or provoke them.
Supporting conservation-focused travel destinations is an excellent way to observe and appreciate wildlife while minimizing the impact on their habitats and livelihoods.
Social media users are continuously outraged at the irresponsible behavior of tourists approaching wildlife and voice their opinions in the comment sections of posts like this.
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“There are already two people that have been gored by buffalo in Yellowstone this year,” one Instagrammer shared. “My good friend works in the ICU at our local hospital and sees the end result of these people that think the rules are for everyone else.”
“NOBODY should be close to a buffalo, let alone trying to pet it or getting a picture for the folks back home,” they wrote. “It has been said before, Yellowstone is not a petting zoo.”
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