There’s a popular word on the internet reserved for people who completely lose common sense while on vacation: tourons.
“Touron: Moron x Tourist,” wrote the OP. “Example of what not to do in Yellowstone in the presence of wild animals, she’s lucky he was in a good mood and didn’t feel like hopping that little barrier!”
Photo Credit: Reddit
The picture shows a tourist getting a little too close to a bison at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
Getting too close to wildlife in national parks is unsafe and irresponsible.
Wild animals can behave unpredictably, and close encounters often lead to injuries for both people and animals. It’s important to stay on designated walkways in national parks, mostly to prevent trampling on flora or injuring yourself.
But in this situation, the small fence shown in the photo isn’t designed to keep wildlife away from humans. Visiting a national park means that you are in wildlife’s territory and must tread carefully.
When wildlife harms or threatens humans — whether provoked or not — park officials may be forced to euthanize the animal.
These preventable incidents can have major ripple effects in ecosystems, encourage animals to seek human food, or damage fragile habitats.
Visitors should observe wildlife from a safe distance, use binoculars or zoom lenses for photos, and follow all park rules. Respecting these rules protects both visitors and the species that make our parks vital to a healthy planet.
Redditors were unimpressed with the flagrant violation of park rules:
“That animal can move faster than people think.. and people think they have time to get out of the way,” added one commenter.
“This is where you let nature do its thing,” said another Redditor. “I just don’t want the bison to get euthanized because of human stupidity.”
Another visitor to the park had a different experience: “I walked that exact path two or three times last week. That bison was a menace.”
They explained that they had to go “a half mile” out of their way to safely avoid the wildlife.
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