A dedicated wildlife photographer in Yellowstone National Park sat in her van “for a couple of hours” with the expectation that a bison would attack a reckless tourist.
Afterall, a herd of bison, including some that were in the rut, was heading toward several tourists who were not following guidelines that the national park issues to all its visitors.
Yellowstone cautions tourists to remain at least 25 yards away from bison, and if an animal moves closer to you, back away to maintain a safe distance.
In essence, the tourists in this case were playing a game of bison roulette.
On this day, the herd of foolish tourists lived to tell how close they came to a herd of bison that approached them but did not charge or attack, as evidenced by video taken
by wildlife photographer April, known as Yellowstone Concierge on Instagram.
“At one point, these folks had 10k pounds coming straight for them, more if you count the velocity they will have at 45 mph if they choose to go full sprint,” April wrote on her post. “I think at one point Bear Management told everyone to get back to their vehicles.”
Fortunately, none of the bison chose to attack. That is not always the case.
“They must have missed the video of the older gentleman getting thrown 10 feet in the air!” one post commenter wrote about a recent incident in which a man suffered a broken femur in a bison attack, as was documented by For the Win Outdoors.
Commenters on Yellowstone Concierge’s post were incredulous about the reckless behavior of the tourists.
“The instincts for some humans to survive is very low apparently,” one wrote. “I’m reminded every time I go to Yellowstone.”
Other comments:
“Are they stupid?”
“Am I a bad person for hating all these people?”
“What is wrong with people. No way I would be out of a car. Those animals are humongous (and) run fast!”
Another wrote, “(Dang it). I was for the bison to attack!”
To which Yellowstone Concierge replied, “Why do you think I sat in my van for a couple of hours?”
Also on FTW Outdoors: Large group gets too close to bison in Yellowstone, man gets gored
And to those thoughtless tourists who think they can find refuge in a vehicle if a bison charges them, think again.
“I heard someone laugh and say to a stranger, ‘I’m hopping in your car if they charge,’” a commenter wrote. “For one, they wouldn’t have time to get in the car if the bison charged. And second, they clearly recognized that they were being unsafe, they were just unwilling to correct it. Crazy.”
Yellowstone Concierge agreed, writing, “Someone I don’t know is not welcome in my vehicle. Nope.”
“If people were close enough to my van to hear me, I would explain that more people are killed and injured by bison than bears in the park,” Yellowstone Concierge wrote. “Some returned to their vehicles or decided to use mine as a buffer. The thing is, during rut, my van is not a buffer. I won’t be letting you in my van after I told you to get back to your vehicle should a bison decide to circle my van after you. They will do that.”
They will also do this: Rip the pants off you, as one bison in Custer State Park did to a reckless woman six years ago, as reported by FTW Outdoors.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Reckless Yellowstone tourists play dangerous game of bison roulette
