Yellowstone Bison Calf Put In Tourists’ Car Because They ‘Thought It Was Cold’
A couple of Yellowstone tourists seriously crossed a line last Monday when they put a bison calf in their SUV and transported it to a ranger station. The incident happened on May 9, and it was witnessed by field-tripping fifth-grade students and their parents, who were visiting Yellowstone National Park. According to Karen Richardson, one of the chaperoning parents, the Yellowstone tourists had the best of intentions when it came to the bison calf.
“They were demanding to speak with a ranger. They were seriously worried that the calf was freezing and dying.”
She told the press that the incident occurred as parents and students were being taught at the Lamar Buffalo Ranch area of Yellowstone. In the middle of their instruction, an adult father and son showed up at the ranger station. They appeared concerned and aggravated, and in the back of their SUV was, to the shock of parents and students alike, a bison calf.
Another parent visiting Yellowstone saw the bison calf in the vehicle and told the pair that they needed to get the animal out of their car. He also warned the tourists that they could be in serious trouble for handling and abducting the bison calf in Yellowstone National Park. According to that parent, Rob Heusevelet, the “good Samaritans” didn’t care about the rules or his well-intended advice, reports East Idaho News.
“They sincerely thought they were doing a service and helping that calf by trying to save it from the cold.”
According to witnesses, the tourists (who were reportedly from another country), led Yellowstone rangers back to where they’d nabbed the bison calf. Once there, park authorities released the apparently unharmed animal back into the wild.
When the visiting students returned home from their Yellowstone trip on Friday, Karen Richardson shared their experience with the world. She posted a photograph of the bison calf to her Facebook page with an straight-forward, cautionary and educational caption.
“Dear tourists: the bison calf is not cold and it is not lost. PUT IT BACK!”
The Yellowstone safety website goes on to tell visitors that getting too close to large animals both harms them and is illegal.
The Yellowstone website even gives specific warnings when it comes to the dangers posed by bison at the national park. According to the warning, bison sprint three times faster than people, and every single year visitors are gored by bison at Yellowstone.
While Yellowstone National Park clearly goes out of its way to try to protect both bison and visitors to the park from harm, there have been instances of people being gored to death by the seemingly placid creatures. As last week’s bison calf “rescue” demonstrates, no matter how diligent Yellowstone is when it comes to warning park visitors, there’s always going to be someone who breaks the rules.
Folks on social media had some words for the would-be heroes, too.
Stupid is as stupid does. #dumbanddumber
— Bobby Buckeye (@BobbyBuckeye41) May 16, 2016
sometimes good intentions pave their way to jail.
— Robin Still Rocks ????????? (@robinstillrocks) May 16, 2016
While it has been reported that the father-and-son tourists who transported the bison calf from the safety of its herd to the ranger station in the back of an SUV were ticketed for their violation of Yellowstone National Park rules, there’s been no word on what precisely they were charged with.
[Image Courtesy Of AP Photo/Matthew Cavanaugh]
