Latest Pastime of Yellowstone National Park Bison: Human Tossing

We were in Yellowstone in 2007 and there was a buffalo next to the restroom at the Grand Canyon. A little boy and his sister were starting to go near it so their Mom could take their picture. I told them to "Get away from that animal." They looked at me like I was the meanest person in the world. I looked at the Mom and said "That is a 2000 pound animal and it will kill your son. What the hell are you thinking?" She was just dumb founded and finally gathers the kids and left. The park officials give you a packet of park rules and regs when you enter the park and are encouraged to read them. There is also numerous warning signs throughout the park. I bought the book 'Death in Yellowstone' while we were there and have been quiet amused at the stupidity of things people will do that ultimately causes their death.

Don't get me wrong. I do not mean to diminish the possible danger that bears pose; but when I am out hiking in the park I give bison a much wider birth than bears. I have been charged by these big guys from over a hundred yards away. I was watching one roll around in a dust bowl on the other side of the Yellowstone River once when it put its head down, crossed the river and ran right at me! I barely made it back up to my car (which I started walking toward as soon as it entered the river). Another time I was skiing the Tower Road in the winter when a big bull was standing in the middle of the road. I tried to ski past, but every time I tried, it put its head down and started toward me. I had to go way up the hill and around. Also, while driving past a herd on the road last year (something we have all done many times) a big bull head butted my car, leaving quite a dent. Now I don't pass them; I pull over and wait for them to clear the road, no matter how long it takes. Statistically bison are far more dangerous than any other large animal in the park. 98% of the time they just stand there and you go by, but look out if they start staring intently at you!

Death in Yellowstone is the GREATEST book.  Unfortunately, the fools that put themselves in harm's way would either not read it, or read it and take it as a challenge.  I have a pic from last summer of two picture-taking fools about 20 - 25 feet from a bison.  Nothing happened to them, thankfully, but I almost wish it had so that the 50-or-so bystanders might have learned a lesson.  I also have a pic of about 10 people standing less than 15 feet from a Yellowstone coyote.  What fools these mortals be.

R: Scaring the bison away was likely the safe thing to do. If that shot in the head was anything less than perfectly placed, a wounded bison would have been far more dangerous. Besides, if rangers shot animals every time some idiot did something stupid, soon there wouldn't be any animals left in the park! I remember once over by the lake there was this lady that got too close to a grizzly bear and the bear chased after her. When the rangers arrived we all showed pictures and video of how close the lady had gotten. The ranger said, "Good for the bear" for chasing her, but also said that if we didn't have pictures and video the bear probably would have been put down. Sad.

If you read the darn story, the father and daughter were in the neighborhood of 100 yards away from the rogue bison in a group of about 50 people with a RANGER! The bisopn charged another individual who headed for the group and the ranger seeking safety in numbers. The crowd scattered, but the father was no doubt hindered by the relatively slow speed of his daughter. These two people did nothing wrong! They were NOT idiots! If the ranger could walk up to within 15 feet of the bison, next to the threatened individuals, he could have easily shot the critter in the head. I would have guessed it was about 50/50 as to what that bison would have done when the ranger shot into the ground.

Jim, Bison can move rapidly and for fairly long distance. Two weeks ago we watched a day old bison calf and cow run at least two miles being chased by a grizzly. The bison won the race along the bank of the Yellowstone River in Heyden Valley. Some people literally appear to leave their brains at home when visiting Yellowstone. On the next day, I attempted to exercise some common sense by telling a bunch of people to get back in their cars as a large grizzle was coming downhill toward them and out of their line of sight. The tourist only knew that a bear had been sighted and wanted to see what was going on. They at least listened to me and got back in their cars to be rewarded by seeing the bear pass withing 25 ft of their cars. Yellowstone is, afterall, still a wild place and not tourists back yard.

Yellowstone ain't Disneyland and those critters aren't audioanimatronics! It is always amazing to me the way some visitors seem to leave common sense at the entry gates. Last year we were parked by the side of the road along w/a few other visitors watching (from safely inside our vehicles) a grizzly digging grubs about 25 yds away down a slight hill (again, we were in our truck w/the windows up). Lo and behold, walking next to our truck comes some doofus w/his about 9 yr old daughter to get a closer look. I rolled down the window and said "Sir, that bear is only about 25 yards down the hill". He rolled his eyes at me and made a dismissive gesture and kept on going out of my view. Lo and behold, 5 seconds later, here he comes backing up slowly with his daughter held behind him. No harm done, Mr Bear was much more interested in grubs, but honestly! When at Yellowstone, I give ALL the creatures, great and small, alot of respect and space.