In my past life as a park ranger,????? ??????? ???????? I've seen people repeatedly approach big animals, the likes of elephant seals and Alaskan brown bears.
This is a continued, selfish insult to the lives of wild animals, many of which are already threatened and existing on just preserved pockets of their once bountiful habitat. It's true that many visitors respect wildlife, yet a vibrant strain of ignorance and naivety of the wilderness persists in U.S. culture, resulting in park visitors continuing to disturb or harass gregarious animals, notably the wild bison and grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park.
Most recently, the park charged a woman for disturbing wildlife after she approached and agitated a grizzly mom and her cubs, reports Montana's Billings Gazette. The woman is set to appear in court in late August.
You can watch the videotaped interaction on YouTube. A woman walks within 15 feet of the grizzly family group to take a picture. The mother bear, naturally defensive, bluff charges the woman to discourage her from coming any closer. Thankfully, there was no physical attack and lethal park response: Bears, even when not in the wrong, often lose.
If there's one crucial message to take away from this unfortunate event, it's this succinct reality: Bears, like all wildlife, need space. Giving them space shows respect and allows these wild animals the ability to live their lives unhindered by human threats or presence.
In Yellowstone, for example, visitors are required to "keep at least 100 yards (93 meters) from bears at all times and never approach a bear to take a photo." A similar regulation exists in Alaska's Katmai National Park, of Fat Bear Week internet fame: Visitors are told to keep at least 50 yards from bears at all times while at a popular bear-viewing site.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Beyond respecting wildlife, keeping a smart distance from large animals also avoids serious injuries to people, or worse. Be like journalist Deion Broxton, whose avoidance of a Yellowstone bison herd went deservedly viral in 2020.
"Oh no, I'm not messing with you," Broxton said on camera as a bison came near.
In 2019, negligent people stood within 10 feetof a Yellowstone bison. The bison charged, resulting in a nine-year-old girl getting violently tossed into the air. In 2017, parents ignored a warning not to feed sea lions: The sea lion leaped out of the water, snatched a young girl and pulled her into the water (she survived).
SEE ALSO: The deep sea discoveries of 2020 are stunningWhy do people approach dangerous animals? A prominent reason is many people today are out of touch with the wilderness. They might grow up in a world largely influenced by TV and urban life, without sufficient exposure to the natural world. At young ages, children miss crucial cues about natural danger. These cues shape their future understanding and views.
"There’s certainly not an innate knowledge of which animals are dangerous or not — it has to be learned," Clark Barrett, a biological anthropologist at the University of Los Angeles, California, told me.
So when children grow up and become adults, they might not have a grip on the realities and threats of the wild world. "It’s almost as if people leave their brain in their car when they go into the wilderness," explained Dan Blumstein, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Los Angeles, California.
But we're certainly not helpless. Listen to park rangers, educate yourself and those in your life when you enter the wilderness. Think about the animals: Give 'em space.
Elon Musk's Tesla robot needs help walking. He says Tesla needs help improving it.Google Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch first impressionsHow to watch 'Schitt's Creek' in 2022'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for October 3Kim Kardashian fined $1.26 million by the SEC for promoting cryptocurrency on InstagramHow to watch 'Schitt's Creek' in 2022Google Pixel 7 will probably be easier to getElon Musk's Tesla robot needs help walking. He says Tesla needs help improving it.'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power': What does 'Ud?n' mean?Who is Adar in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'? 'Glitter booty' is the latest bizarre beauty trend you've secretly always wanted Grindr wants you to know it's not just a hookup app, launches online magazine This awful Daily Mail front page is getting dragged all over town for its mindblowing sexism Dallas bookstore is selling the world on classic novels with clickbait headlines A simple reason why you should stay out of floodwaters in Australia: Sharks J.K. Rowling shares touching Mother's Day message, comforts fans The wait is over: Hillary Clinton is back and political as hell Lazy little bird hitches a ride on uninterested cat Sweet dad celebrates his two sons with a 'Calvin and Hobbes' Chance the Rapper sat in on a third grade math class and it looked really fun, TBH
0.1676s , 9995.375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【????? ??????? ????????】Stop messing with bears in national parks,Global Hot Topic Analysis