A YouTube video of a young boy being charged by a bison in Yellowstone National Park recently, is serving as a reminder to tourists of the dangers of approaching a wild animal.
A group on young tourists had a close call when they got too close to a wild bison in the park. The incident was caught on video and posted to YouTube in August.
In the video, a man can be heard encouraging a group of kids to get closer to the bison. The bison starts to thrash it's head around, clearly bothered by the people being so close.
The man notices the behavior as he narrates the video, saying "See his head movements, see him gesturing? He's saying "I will get you, I will get you."
The man wasn't kidding. After several seconds of tolerating the tourists, the bison gets fed up and starts to move towards them, causing them to run away. The bison then continues to chase the youngest boy of the group as someone is heard screaming "Justin, run!"
The little boy just narrowly escapes getting trampled or hurt by the large animal.
The incident serves as a reminder that people shouldn't get too close to wild animals in the park. During this time of year, the bison move towards roadside feeding areas in the park.
"This is a wild place, and these are wild animals. They are bigger than you, and the only person who can look out for your safety is you," Yellowstone National Park spokesman Al Nash told KXLH.
Nash says that the closest a person should ever get to a bison or elk is 25 yards. People should stay 100 yards away from deadlier creatures such as bears and wolves.
When a bison is agitated, it will stomp, snort, shake its head from side to side and its tail will stand straight up or curl above them. The bison in the video displays much of this behavior. When a bison displays this behavior, a person should back away, keep calm, and avoid runnings if possible.
While the people in the video can be heard laughing after the incident, this is no laughing matter.
Those at the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce of Commerce posted the video to their Facebook page and said how angry the incident makes them.
They wrote:
"This video is one that makes us angry, especially at the irresponsible person behind the camera urging the children "to go ahead and touch him." This group has no idea how incredibly lucky they were that no one was injured or killed. Yellowstone is an incredible place that allows us all to experience wildlife in a way that can you can no where in the world. But, it is also a place where safety rules, regarding wildlife and thermal features, are so important to follow. As a leader or parent or guide, it is your responsibility to take the time to understand and follow them, and provide the example for others."
The video has gained over 270,000 views on YouTube so far.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
