Tourists Blocking Grizzly Bear’s Path

[Roadrunner]

Yikes!

 

Photographer Films Yellowstone Park Tourists Blocking Grizzly Bear's Path | PetaPixel

[Sally Robertson]

12 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

Yikes!

 

Photographer Films Yellowstone Park Tourists Blocking Grizzly Bear's Path | PetaPixel

Oh dear 🙈 It really bothers me when people show no sensitivity or understanding towards the animal. They only care about getting the picture or film they want. The poor bear was completely overwhelmed.

[Michael Ventura]

This has been a problem, in Yellowstone, for a long time.  Also with bison, tourists get way too close.  This photo was taken by my grandfather in the 1930's.

 

 

Just last week, a woman wandered off the roped in path, around the Old Faithful geyser, and broke through the crusty ground.  She received 3rd degree scalding burns, from the boiling ground water, on her legs.  Tourists can be very stupid.

[Betty LaRue]

32 minutes ago, Michael Ventura said:

This has been a problem, in Yellowstone, for a long time.  Also with bison, tourists get way too close.  This photo was taken by my grandfather in the 1930's.

 

 

Just last week, a woman wandered off the roped in path, around the Old Faithful geyser, and broke through the crusty ground.  She received 3rd degree scalding burns, from the boiling ground water, on her legs.  Tourists can be very stupid.

Yes. Tourists & young people who haven’t the experience of years. I’ve been following the Line fire threatening Big Bear in California. When Bob was stationed at the air base near there, one evening we looked toward the San Bernardino mountains and saw a thin line of fire. We loaded up our baby girl & drove straight into it. Went on a tortuous road with fire on both sides, briefly, before turning around because of the smoke. We came from Oklahoma where in those days the only fires we saw beside roads were small ones from a cigarette being tossed, no danger.

I look back on that now & realize how utterly stupid we were. I was barely 18 years old at the time, Bob 3 years older. I’ve seen so much on TV in past years of people trying to escape & losing their lives driving through fire.  We thought, wrongly, the road wasn’t on fire so we’d be safe. The Line fire seems to be under control and Big Bear (resort town) is safe. The fire came within a few miles of it and was deliberately set by an arsonist. He’s under arrest.

[Michael Ventura]

23 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

Yes. Tourists & young people who haven’t the experience of years. I’ve been following the Line fire threatening Big Bear in California. When Bob was stationed at the air base near there, one evening we looked toward the San Bernardino mountains and saw a thin line of fire. We loaded up our baby girl & drove straight into it. Went on a tortuous road with fire on both sides, briefly, before turning around because of the smoke. We came from Oklahoma where in those days the only fires we saw beside roads were small ones from a cigarette being tossed, no danger.

I look back on that now & realize how utterly stupid we were. I was barely 18 years old at the time, Bob 3 years older. I’ve seen so much on TV in past years of people trying to escape & losing their lives driving through fire.  We thought, wrongly, the road wasn’t on fire so we’d be safe. The Line fire seems to be under control and Big Bear (resort town) is safe. The fire came within a few miles of it and was deliberately set by an arsonist. He’s under arrest.

 

I have to admit that I was a stupid tourist once (maybe twice 😀).  Many many years ago, I went with my then girlfriend to Yellowstone in the winter.  We rented a two seater snowmobile and headed off on the snow covered roads throughout the Yellowstone Park.  We came across a herd of bison and I pulled up pretty close to an adult bison who was plowing the snow with its head to get to anything it can eat.   Well my girlfriend wasn't happy with how close I got and she began to pound her fists on my back.  I got the message and moved on.

Edited September 22 by Michael Ventura

[Betty LaRue]

20 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

 

I have to admit that I was a stupid tourist once (maybe twice 😀).  Many many years ago, I went with my then girlfriend to Yellowstone in the winter.  We rented a two seater snowmobile and headed off on the snow covered roads throughout the Yellowstone Park.  We came across a herd of bison and I pulled up pretty close to an adult bison who was plowing the snow with its head to get to anything it can eat.   Well my girlfriend wasn't happy with how close I got and she began to pound her fists on my back.  I got the message and moved on.

Yes at Yellowstone I wanted the pic of a moose. I stayed the required distance & stood behind a tree in case it charged & shot with my 400mm.  There were people in the open getting close with their little P&S cameras. No way could they have outrun a moose whose general method of displaying displeasure was stomping someone to death.

[Phil]

After watching the video twice - it appears to be a black bear. 

 

Black bears are noticeably smaller, different body characteristics, less imposing. and usually of better temperament than an actual grizzly bear.

 

I will say that the apparent distance between the bear and tourists is compressed due to the spotting scope lens being used in the video.  Regardless - that's no excuse for the tourist's behavior.    But there is not a year that goes by that unfortunate encounters occur between the wildlife and tourist's in Yellowstone or the Tetons due to similar tourist ignorance.

 

Stan Mills has many excellent videos of hiking the Yellowstone backcountry with grizzly bear and other wildlife encounters in that eco-system.

 

https://www.youtube.com/@StanMills

Edited September 23 by Phil
add

[Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg]

41 minutes ago, Phil said:

...there is not a year that goes by that unfortunate encounters occur...

then some would blame management for NOT enforcing rules by fining offenders;

yes, rangers cannot be everywhere all the time, but they can have effect, IMO...

[Phil]

9 minutes ago, Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg said:

then some would blame management for NOT enforcing rules by fining offenders;

yes, rangers cannot be everywhere all the time, but they can have effect, IMO...

 

Yep - a substantial part of the problem is no doubt under-staffing/under-funding of needed park employees etc.

 

In recent years attendance at our National Parks has skyrocketed - especially the more popular ones. Too many tourists and park employees cannot readily deal with the masses.

 

I have close friends that for years have lived close to and love visiting Rocky Mountain National Park in Colo.  In recent years they have almost completely stopped visiting due to the large increase in crowds.

 

Edited September 23 by Phil

[Jill Morgan]

Last year when I was in Banff walking along a trail next to a river, there were a number of elk crossing the river over to my side.  I backed away and went behind a tree, but a tourist from Sweden got real up close and personal with one bull elk as it was coming out of the water.  The elk charged him and he was  lucky to escape his encounter. 

 

It makes me wonder about people's common sense.

[Roadrunner]

This is about as close to wildlife as I ever got to in Banff.

No animals or photographers were harmed.

 

[NYCat]

😃

Paulette