As hiking season gets underway, a pair of tourists at Yellowstone National Park have given a perfect demonstration of how not to enjoy watching and photographing the wildlife. The duo were spotted in Hayden Valley taking it in turns to pose with a particularly large bison, seemingly oblivious to how dangerous these powerful creatures can be. According to the National Park Service (NPS), they are responsible for more injuries than any other animals at Yellowstone, including bears, wolves and snakes.
A video of the incident, which you can watch below, was shared via Instagram account this week. It was shot by wildlife biologist Jeremy Jacobs, who explains that it was recorded during the rut last fall, when male bison are particularly aggressive as they compete for dominance and the right to mate. This particular animal appears calm, but a bison's mood can change in a second, which can have serious consequences.
"The animals in Yellowstone are wild and unpredictable, no matter how calm they appear to be," in its safety guidance for visitors. "The safest (and often best) view of wildlife is from inside a car." It's a lesson that one hiker learned the hard way in 2022, when she encountered a small bison herd while hiking alone in Caprock Canyons State Park, Texas.
Rather than taking an alternative route and extending her hike, Rebecca Clark decided to carefully creep past the animals. At first they seemed to tolerate her presence, but when she was nearly past, one bull charged and.
