Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My sympathy lies with the animal. There are BILLBOARDS all over the park telling you to stay away from the animals. Sympathy would apply if she stayed in her vehicle and the bison rammed the vehicle unprovoked. Sympathy for walking up within 10 feet of a bison? Nope. She deserves to be fined and banned from the park for life. No 15 minutes of SnapChat/TikTok/Instagram fame for her.
Yes and often the animal is put down due to human stupidity.
One time we were at an animal park in Long Island and there was a bison there. My brother went out and touched it with his cowboy hat. Said that brings good luck. I guess in his case it did as the big guy did not attack him.
ETA My favorite thing at Yellowstone are the herds of bison. Although I do not attempt to get near them .
One early foggy morning there was a large herd moving slowly and bellowing. It was off a road but pretty much in a less traveled part of the park. A wonderful experience I will alway remember.
She's young and unfortunately will be dealing with the consequences of that mistake for awhile, if not for the rest of her life, depending on the type of damage done to her body.
I've been to Yellowstone and they (bison) are everywhere, they have even walked down the road stopping traffic so there is no need to get close, if you miss one there will be another shortly
Terrible thing to happen. If it's true that she approached the bison, well, that's what happens when you approach wild animals. I remember being 25. That's plenty old enough to know that those animals are wild and can hurt you if they perceive danger, think you're too close, have a baby nearby, or whatever. They're not pets. I hope she's okay and has learned a hard lesson.
Most people today are more likely to fear a visit to the doctor after a blood test than an adventure on a holiday. The former many associate from personal experience with family and friends as a potential source of a life-changing danger, i.e. the diagnosis of a serious illness, while we consider the latter harmless fun.
Personal danger due to environmental factors is so far outside the frame of reference for most people in advanced societies today that it doesn't cross their minds really. We've recently seen that actress drown in a popular recreational lake in the L.A. metropolitan area, we've seen people die from exposure on popular hiking trails etc.
Especially when people notice signs of the presence of people - maybe even a big number of people - in recent times, they expect the situation to be 'managed' and thus under control. As such, things like signage, even warning signage, can actually create a false impression of 'civilization' where dangers are mitigated and 'policed'.
I find this to only be true of extremely ignorant or naïve people. If they are so ignorant of the hazards of nature, maybe they should stay indoors wrapped in bubble wrap. We are all exposed to hundreds of stories of natural hazards through the magic of movies, television, and the nightly news
People die sometimes from a series of incidents, sometimes something is forgotten, or something seemingly minor is overlooked, combine that with bad weather, chance, and some mechanical failure or accident, and it adds up to a potentially fatal situation. But actually going up to a wild animal, after being warned EXPLICITLY in pamphlets, on billboards, and probably verbally too, and then just acting like an idiot and doing EXACTLY what you were warned not to is not normal behavior, and you can't chalk it up to people's "frame of reference". It's outright stupidity, like sticking a fork in an electrical outlet, or trying to fly off the roof. As some comedian said..."You can't fix stupid".
People die in the wilderness and they often took on that risk willingly, and with lots of thought, and preparation, equipment, etc, but sometimes sh*t happens. But when people die (or are injured) in the relative safety of a national park with brochures, walkways, signs, rangers, and even other helpful souls all warning them to not do a dangerous act, they have no one to blame but themselves. And I have zero sympathy for them.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
