A stag made it clear that a selfie-taking tourist had crossed the line. The woman was lucky all she got was a bop on the hand, and hopefully a lesson learned.<\/p>\n
Tourons of National Parks<\/a> (@touronsofnationalparks) shared the uncredited footage on their Instagram account.<\/p>\n The video begins with a woman attempting to photograph a grazing stag up close for a selfie, as her companions laugh loudly off-screen. Initially, the stag almost appears to have a scolding face at the gall of the tourist.<\/p>\n “I love the shock on the deer’s face,” an Instagram commenter wrote. They posited the stag was internally thinking “Is she really doing this?”<\/p>\n The tourist didn’t just stop at the close-up picture with her back turned. To really make the image sing, she extended her arm toward the animal, but that was a bridge too far for the patient stag.<\/p>\n It quickly reacted by striking the woman’s hand and wrist with its antlers before the others’ warnings could register. The startled woman hurried away laughing to reunite with the rest of her group as the video ended.<\/p>\n Incidents like this highlight the growing issue of visitors risking both their safety and that of the wildlife for photo ops. It’s not just stags that people want to take pictures with. Bears, moose and bison are frequently singled out for close-range photos at national parks around the country. As you’d expect, those interactions can go south for overmatched humans.<\/p>\n These encounters pose dangers to wildlife as well, since animals that injure humans might face euthanization. That remains the case even if they’re provoked by humans invading their personal space to feed them or take selfies.<\/p>\n While the exact location of this incident is unknown, it’s a safe bet that the park instructed visitors to not turn their back on elk, nor go any closer to them than 50 yards.<\/p>\n Still, it’s clear that the lesson of letting wild animals be wild hasn’t sunk in for many tourists.<\/p>\n “She got away with a slap on the wrist,” a user observed.<\/p>\n A commenter wondered: “How did phones make people so willing to do stuff?”<\/p>\n “It seems to be there’s no common sense anymore,” a viewer mused.<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices \u2014 and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD’s exclusive Rewards Club<\/a>.<\/p>\n