It’s said that the only two certainties in life are death and taxes, but there’s a strong contender for a third: tourists behaving foolishly in national parks during peak seasons.<\/p>\n
Tourons of National Parks<\/a> is a social media page dedicated to documenting the escapades of so-called tourons (tourists + morons).<\/p>\n One video posted to Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a> (@touronsofyellowstone) shows a pair of visitors narrowly escaping serious injury at the hooves of a rather prickly bison during mating season.<\/p>\n The caption pulled no punches: “That lady got lucky she wasn’t flung up into the air with a giant horn up her backside.”<\/p>\n As the National Park Service notes, the summer rut is a particularly stressful season<\/a> for the bison. The air is filled with the bellows of bulls competing to win the affections of females through displays of aggression and violent clashes with rivals.<\/p>\n A male can lose as much as 200 pounds during the season, equivalent to 12% of his body weight. While there’s never a good time to get up close and personal with bison, mating season is easily the most dangerous.<\/p>\n Injuries can and do happen with alarming frequency. A mature bull weighs over 2,000 pounds and can move seriously fast, around 30 miles an hour<\/a>, in short bursts.<\/p>\n It’s precisely why the National Park Service<\/a> urges visitors to keep their distance from park wildlife: “If animals react to your presence you are too close.”<\/p>\n For large herbivores, that distance should be at least 75 feet<\/a>, or roughly the length of two buses. Bears and wolves should be given an even wider berth.<\/p>\n The conduct shown in the clip is especially unfortunate because the parks represent an ideal eco-friendly<\/a> vacation destination. Getting out there and reconnecting with nature is a wonderful way to boost physical and mental health. It’s important to enjoy what the parks have to offer but to do so responsibly. “Leave no trace<\/a>” is a good maxim to live by.<\/p>\n It’s fair to say the comments were firmly on the side of the bison in this encounter.<\/p>\n One commenter on Instagram<\/a> said, “That was a polite warning.”<\/p>\n A Facebook commenter added, “They should be banned from the parks.”<\/p>\n Join our free newsletter<\/a> for good news and useful tips, and don’t miss this cool list<\/a> of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.<\/p>\n