What's with all the bison attacks lately?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

It has been a tumultuous summer for Yellowstone National Park. Following catastrophic rain and flooding at the beginning of peak visitor season last month, the park was closed as officials assessed and repaired damaged roads and bridges. As it reopens in phases, tourists are returning — and getting into trouble with wildlife.

This year, three people in a short period of time were attacked after getting too close to bison.

First was a 25-year-old visitor from Ohio, who was gored and tossed 10 feet into the air by a bison after getting within 10 feet of the animal on May 30. The next incident took place on June 28 — a week after Yellowstone reopened some portions to the public — when a 34-year-old tourist from Colorado was charged and gored near Giant Geyser. A day later, a 71-year-old visitor from Pennsylvania was gored by a bull bison near Storm Point at Yellowstone Lake when she inadvertently approached the animal.

While the incidents may have been shocking to the public, they weren’t to experts.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2022/07/05/bison-attack-goring-yellowstone/

Better yet why are there so many stupid people who are unaware you give wild animals their space?

[Deuxcents]

1. Too many idiots running around.

[Botany]

2. When i was out on some open prairie / range land with wild bison 200 to 300 hundred yards was close

.... enough. I once walked up on a herd of about 10 to 15 by accident and i slowly backed away until I couldn't
see them and then ran for about 1/2 of mile.

[wcmagumba]

3. Between these Darwin Award candidates and all the thuglican trumpers...

Karens and other general morons in the US, I'm thinking the average IQ of citizens of this country must be well under 100...used to be considered an average score. We have become the real Idiocrasy....

[COL Mustard]

4. I haven't been attacked by a bison

Of course I live 1500 miles from the Great Plains, but still, you never know.

The stupidity of some people is amazing. I think Einstein said there were two things that didn't have limits...the universe and human stupidity, and he wasn't sure about the universe.

[hlthe2b]

6. I had a good friend who was a park ranger at Yellowstone (and Grand Canyon before)...

The ignorance of tourists is beyond comprehensive. Every year one or more tries to get a photo of their toddler seated ON THE BACK OF A BISON. Then there are those who don't believe the boiling danger signs for the geysers and end up with third-degree burns (or dead). Only at Grand Canyon is there more oblivious ignorance, where every year multiple idiots literally line up to take pictures and walk off the canyon rim, totally distracted--usually to fatal consequences.

There are books published about the intensely embarrassingly ignorant questions asked too. As if RW politics alone did not make me wonder if we are long for this earth...

[TigressDem]

23. IF that was what got reported, then they should probably run it like a game safarri.

IF people really are pushing things that much, they shouldn't be going in there on their own.

But it seems to me the articles I've read, that the bison are acting differently.

I was at Yellowstone. Saw Old Faithful and a few other things. Then left. It was so beautiful there.

I don't even remember any bison out there at all. It was many years ago though.

[hlthe2b]

29. Blaming the animals for human stupidity is just that. You REALLY don't get it.

And yes, bison numbers were once lower because of Brucellosis and surrounding ranchers, especially in Montana, killing them when they wandered off the park. But these are wild animals rightfully protective against stupid humans--stupid humans who have been amply warned. In many years a deer hunter finds that it is THEY who fall victim to the horns of the buck they stalk. Animals will fight back. If you think humans are beyond understanding and respecting the rules that have been in effect for the majority of Yellowstone (and all the National Park's) history but have to be treated like children with overseers, well, heaven help us. Having spent much of my adult life hiking in Yellowstone, Teton National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Canyon and most of the other large parks of the west, I say I am ashamed of this attitude. I guess many can't appreciate the incredible gift we have been given--including the opportunity to spend some time coexisting RESPECTFULLY with wildlife.

[TigressDem]

31. What I understand is that with a huge change in numbers, a different approach may be needed.

People like yourself who are savvy, and can read a herd or animal easily are in a category that can go deeper without exposing yourself to danger that you can't handle.

BUT if the animals are attacking so much more than before, then some sort of change to keep both groups safe is a good idea.

The flooding probably has these herds freaked out. Before they might not have walked right up to the boardwalk and over it to graze. But if their normal areas are under water, they don't have a lot of choice.

WHAT I DON'T GET is treasuring the lives of animals ABOVE humans who are simply there to take in the beauty and didn't do anything on purpose to incite the animals.

IF these were idiots trying to ride them like mechanical bulls, yeah. I get it. Or trying to get up close to get a picture. NOT the story the videos tell. Children nearly trampled. DU has concern for children being shot in school, but because it's an animal in a National Park, oh well. Survival of the fittest?

Walking to your car in the parking lot and not seeing a bison because you are old and tired and just want to get going, maybe it's a little stupid. But if that same behavior happened in a city and someone got car jacked, would you blame the victim?

Wild life NEEDS to be managed if humans are to be in close proximity. AND those humans in close proximity, for better or worse, PAY for the animals to live free.

My thought about doing the ride with the guide was as a temporary solution until things get back into balance. HOW MANY years has Yellowstone been fairly safe in the areas where most of the people traffic is steady? Something CHANGED. Covid, the floods. SOMETHING is escalating the situation and it would be a good idea if solutions were discussed and not just blame the people getting hurt because they didn't know enough, even with all the information out there.

Gee whiz, have you never missed an off ramp because there was complicated signage at spaghetti junction during road construction? When things are quite a bit different and there is a dangerous element, it takes planning and adjustments.



Maybe if they dropped extra hay further out until the flooded areas recover, it would keep them occupied and not so very close to the public.

The animals are probably simply coming in closer to find forage.

[hlthe2b]

32. The only thing that has changed is the stupidity of people who can't manage to follow simple

instructions. But perhaps you are right. Those who you argue cannot fathom the need to respect wildlife, cannot manage to follow simple rules to protect themselves and these animals should be made to ride in a plexiglass air-conditioned cage around to see the animals. Good idea. And conversely, those who have managed to show respect, understanding and appreciation for animals and have experience doing so can receive permits to do as I have done for decades--share the environs with RESPECT.

This is THEIR environment. WE are the visitors, so yes, I do worry for the animals put at risk by the willfully ignorant and arrogant humans. So by all means, let's cage THEM. Or better yet, let them stay at home and watch on their home theaters leaving the animals in peace.

[TigressDem]

33. You "SAY" you KNOW nothing has changed, except human stupidity.

Human stupidity is basically a constant. It is what it is.

ANIMALS however, respond to their environment. They HAVE been able to find food in areas without a lot of people. Animals aren't stupid and they avoid us when possible.

HISTORIC FLOODS are ALL OVER THE NEWS.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/15/floods-leave-yellowstone-landscape-dramatically-changed.html



And yet, you, who knows SO MUCH about animals believe that has NOTHING to do with their changed behavior?


COME ON.

YOU who is SUCH a FAN of all these natural spaces and read all the signs and do everything right so you are safe and the animals are not disturbed.

YOU disbelieve there has been any flooding in Yellowstone?

What is that a right wing conspiracy?

https://www.oregonlive.com/weather/2022/06/yellowstone-national-parks-old-faithful-could-reopen-next-week-new-aerial-photos-of-flood-damage.html

https://wtop.com/lifestyle/2022/06/yellowstone-entries-closed-for-flooding-visitors-evacuated/



You probably haven't had pets or even children if you don't get that not being able to get to food makes them cranky.

YEAH. Those folks out in Yellowstone, THEY are the idiots. Not you.


YOU ARE SO BRAVE AND PROGRESSIVE. You are against all that Reich Wing hatred of people because they aren't the same as you.



You ARE a progressive, aren't you?

You DO care about human beings as well as animals?

OR have you LOST every ounce of compassion you ever had, if you had it to start?


I DON'T UNDERSTAND why looking at problems and trying to find solutions instead of blaming people is SUCH A HUGE ASK.

[Tetrachloride]

7. Reasons

1. Statistical anomaly
2. Idiots were encouraged by reduced Covid fear.
3. Bison population in Far Side is up recently
4. Gored is a great word among headline writers.
5. Coroners like gastrointestinal carnage

[TigressDem]

8. Well, they were in public spaces. Some didn't see the buffalo until it was too late.

Mother and daughter were walking to their car.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/01/yellowstone-bison-woman-gored-third


The woman and her daughter “inadvertently approached the bison as they were returning to their vehicle at the trailhead” near Storm Point at Yellowstone Lake, “causing the bull bison to charge”, the US National Park Service said.





https://www.tetongravity.com/story/news/bison-gores-tourist-in-yellowstone

Photo shows the area where people go to see "Old Faithful" and the bison gather there too.


A 34-year-old male from Colorado Springs, Colorado, was gored by a bull bison near Giant Geyser at Old Faithful on June 27.

The male was walking with his family on a boardwalk when a bull bison charged the group.


Somewhere I read he was trying to keep the bison away from his family.

[we can do it]

12. They were all too close. It's the animal's home, not the idiot visitors.

Walking to car, didn’t see 2000 pound animal.

[TigressDem]

13. WHO expects a bison in the parking lot?

They were leaving, heading to their car.

She is a 71 year old lady. She can miss a lot.

AND the bison could have been screened by bushes or trees in the area.


YOU DON'T KNOW. You weren't there.

SO why not take your judgement and hang it on the shelf and investigate the actual facts?

[we can do it]

14. Everyone should, it's in the middle of the damn park.

I have been there many times, wild animals can be and are everywhere. There are warning signs at all parking areas.

It isn’t Disney. They are idiots.

[TigressDem]

17. Someday you might be somewhere that you don't know what to do.

I don't know if I hope someone helps you, probably. You may have some redeeming qualities you haven't shown so far.

BUT if you seem like an idiot to others, you may get to be on the opposite side of your judgemental attitude. KARMA.


NO ONE goes to a park and says to themself, "Gee, I hope a wild animal attacks me today."


MAYBE the buffalo need to be screened off the main public areas so it doesn't trigger their territorial instincts.


MAYBE there should be a 25 foot buffer zone of safety so people can go look at a geyser and get back to the parking lot without having to worry about some pissed off animal attacking them.

Do the buffalo NEED to be at that geyser for their health? I don't know.

[we can do it]

18. 🤣🤣🤣🤣Have you ever been outside?😂😂😂😂

[TigressDem]

20. Of course, dear. Have you ever thought of anyone else but yourself?

You can make all the assumptions you want about anyone here.

Maybe you are right. Maybe you are wrong.

I've been to Yellowstone actually. Saw "Old Faithful" and a few other things and moved on, loving the scenery.

I've camped in Montana, South Dakota and Minnesota as well as Washington state.

Had run ins with creepy spiders and bats, but for the most part went out, had fun and moved on.

My son met a mountain lion in his back yard one time. He was practicing with a samurai sword at the time and blunt forced knocked it away so he could get into the house. They are protected in his neck of the woods.

He had a bear very interested in the line of fish hooked on his belt, so he left it as a peace offering. However, it was his pit bull that convinced the bear to take a hike after he ran after it and bit it on the butt. My son called the dog off though once he got to the car. Didn't want to push his luck.

I understand common sense with animals.

But right now, the bison population at Yellowstone is acting differently than it was before.

They can shut the park down so only the bison can enjoy it, but then what?

[we can do it]

22. I can't even...

[TigressDem]

24. What? Think of anyone but yourself? Is it that hard?

I guess I am just asking people to back off the crazy judging of people who were hurt in this situation.

IF they did stupid things, well, even if they "deserved it" I personally don't feel anyone needs to judge them.

Logically, if someone got attacked by a bison, they would learn from it.

BET YOU these same people NEVER do that again and maybe others will be more cautious.

I just don't expect RAW HATRED to flow out of people on DU.

I guess we all have been under stress for so long, but it's discouraging.

I expect more from DEMs than this kind of nanny boo boo ranting and raving.

Guess I am stupid for wanting mature behavior anywhere anymore.

[TigressDem]

16. Here is a video of adult saving a kid from being trampled

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2022/06/29/bison-attacks-family-yellowstone-national-park-orig-jc.cnn


Now I am not saying they were correct to be so close, because I don't know how fast the buffalo came upon them.

THERE IS A BOARD WALK for PEOPLE to walk on there.


So guess what? People were walking on it.


And how do you know which way to go to get away from it?


It isn't like the damm thing is on a disney world track and can only go in one direction.

[we can do it]

19. Next you'll say they don't know steaming geysers are hot.

[TigressDem]

21. But do they put the board walk close enough that people will get burned when the geyser goes off?

If someone left the board walk and got 5 feet away from the geyser, yes, that would be stupid.

I AM NOT THE ONE assuming that I know what people are thinking and that they are stupid or smart.

I AM NOT THE ONE calling everyone idiots.

I am simply offering facts about what happened and wondering why it's happening without going off with my own opinion.

I don't like when people think they can judge everyone else without knowing them.

It's like talking to a Republican.

[Groundhawg]

9. idiots

[we can do it]

15. +10000

[Skittles]

10. like a lot of us, they are fed up with stupd fucking people

yes INDEED

[applegrove]

11. More Bison? A brother of the husband of my dad's great aunt watched buffalo

pelts come into the Fort in Manitoba. He saved 13 of the animals and grew the heard from that. I think all the Bison alive today were grown from conservationists like him. The bison numbers are increasing every year.

[bottomofthehill]

25. Simple answer, too many stupid people getting too close to wild animals.

The original Fuck around and Find Out.

[Cicada]

27. As a child I saw a man chase a bear to recover stolen hotdogs

We were barbecuing at a roadside site on Mt Ranier. A bear stole a package of hotdogs and the man chased the bear to get his hotdogs back! Fortunately the bear outran him.

[MFM008]

28. Poking the bears

This is why they put signs on stuff like hair dryers that say do not use underwater...
Automatically the first thing when I see a dangerous animal is go up and start harassing it so my solution is that I usually root for the animals in trying to teach stupid people to leave them alone..

[Voltaire2]

30. Revenge.