Skip to main content

In Yellowstone National Park, one woman was sent running after yet another too-close encounter with a bison

Here's why you should NEVER get in front of a wild bison, kids

Closeup of large black bison starting at camera from a grassy field.
mana5280 / Unsplash

In the past few years, tourists have started visiting the best U.S. National Parks in record numbers. More people means more animal encounters — specifically wild animal encounters. It should go without saying that wild animals are, well, wild. That means they can be unpredictable, aggressive, and even dangerous when they feel threatened. Can you blame them? But that hasn’t stopped some people from putting their safety, even their lives, at risk just to snag “the perfect selfie.” Case in point: Yet another tourist who couldn’t resist getting an all-too-close “ussie” with a wild bison, and nearly found herself the victim of another Yellowstone National Park bison attack.

Instagram user yesitisjen captured this brief video snippet of the encounter:

It shows an unnamed woman walking toward a bison, calmly resting in the dirt dbeside a wooden walkway in Yellowstone. She approaches the animal, smartphone in hand, and kneels down mere feet from the bison’s face. It only takes a second for it to become agitated enough to stand up and chase her and her companion back down the boardwalk as they nervously laugh together.

It’s worth noting that it’s extremely rare for bison to attack humans, and this bison showed zero signs of aggression. While the lead-up in the encounter video is short, the bison appears to be minding its own business, just relaxing and living its best life before this tourist rolls up. The NPS notes that bison aggression is marked by snorting, bluff charging, head bobbing, and pawing at the ground. One or more of these signs indicates that they may feel threatened or agitated, and again, this creature exhibited none of them at first.

Most responsible adults know not to bother wild animals. The National Park Service has long been clear about giving all park critters a wide berth. For elk, deer, bears, wolves, and bison, it recommends a 25-yard clearance. Not sure how far that is? Stick out your arm, and throw your nearest bison a thumbs-up. If your thumb blocks out the entire creature, you’re at a safe distance. If not, it’s time to back away.

This video represents another textbook example of “f**k around and find out,” National Park Edition. Too-close animal encounters have become so commonplace in National Parks that it seems a new incident is reported almost weekly. Earlier this year, Yellowstone officials were forced to issue a stern warning, pleading with visitors to drive slowly, give every animal plenty of room to roam, and never interfere with wildlife. It’s prompted some experts to share their tips on how to co-exist and photograph wildlife safely.

The rise in near-miss and even deadly National Park wildlife encounters even prompted the creation of an entire Instagram account, touronsofyellowstone (a portmanteau of “tourist” and “morons”), to chronicle the epic stupidity of tourists getting too close to Yellowstone’s animals. Judging by its more than 400,000 followers, it seems many of us enjoy the schadenfreude of watching clueless tourons get their comeuppance.

Old Faithful geyser eruption in Yellowstone National Park at sunset.
Susanne Pommer / Shutterstock

Where is Yellowstone National Park?

Yellowstone National Park’s 3,500 square miles are tucked mostly into the northwest corner of Wyoming, with roughly 3% of its land mass in Montana and another 1% in Idaho. If you’re planning a trip to Yellowstone, it’s easily accessible via airports in Cody and Jackson, WY; Bozeman and Billings, MT; and Idaho Falls, ID. Once on the ground, there are five entrances, making the park extremely drivable to explore by car.

Editors' Recommendations

Mike Richard
Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South…
2 popular national parks want your opinion about proposed fee increases and reservation changes
National parks are considering fee hikes and reservation changes. What do you think?
View from Angels Landing, Zion National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon and Zion are a couple of Utah's most amazing national parks, and officials want to keep it that way. Management is constantly seeking to improve visitors' experiences while preserving these national treasures. In this pursuit, officials are now calling for public comment on several proposals aimed at addressing discrepancies. Some of these proposals are designed to make getting a reservation easier —we're all for anything that can help us plan a trip in advance — while others include various fee increases. Of course, no one likes paying more, but the aim of these increases is to use the money to keep up standards at the parks. Here's what you need to know.
Bryce Canyon
Proposal 1: Campground reservations will get a little easier
Right now, a major struggle that Sunset Campground campers face is that reservations can't be booked in advance unless you want to grab Sunset's Group Site. This means that many people come all the way up to the campground only to find that every spot is taken.

By comparison, the North Campground has a reservation system through Recreation.gov and has dates available from May through October six months in advance. It's still a first-come, first-serve situation, but because you can reserve a spot, it has smoothed out many of the hiccups visitors have been experiencing.

Read more
Zion National Park: Our guide to exploring Utah’s incredible outdoors
Places to see in the Greater Zion region of Southwest Utah
Eagle Crag in Greater Zion

Utah is known for majestic, almost otherworldly scenery that includes such renowned sites as Delicate Arch, Bryce Canyon, and Goblin Valley. Much of the state offers picturesque vistas with mountains, canyons, and unique rock formations that are known worldwide. There are a lot of national parks in Utah, which means there are numerous places to hike, backpack, and play outside in the wilderness.
Tucked away in Southwestern Utah is the Greater Zion region, which holds a variety of wonders to explore for outdoorsmen of all levels. The area is also home of the Zion National Park, a wonderland of gorgeous vistas overlooking the Virgin River, which runs through a canyon of Utah’s distinctive red rock.

So what makes the Greater Zion area one of the best places to visit in Utah?

Read more
Where will the next U.S. national park be?
Did you know we're about to get another National Park? Here's a breakdown
Night Sky Over Idaho's Craters of the Moon

Most of us know that Yellowstone was the first National Park in the U.S. But do you know what the newest National Park is? Well, the 64th park in America is about to be named and there are several worthy candidates throughout the land. Here's what to know.

Presently, there are seven areas within the country vying to be named the next great National Park. The locations span the U.S. map from Idaho to Maine, and while they are all worthy in their own right -- thanks to unique landforms, incredible wildlife, singular environments, etc. -- just one will be selected.

Read more