Every year the officials in Yellowstone National Park publish signs and pamphlets with warnings to visitors. Just like the detailed pictures show, with circle backslashes indicating improper actions and behaviors, more visitors take pictures of themselves doing the stupidest things. We’re not talking embarrassing actions, but actions that can bring about extreme harm and death.
When visiting Yellowstone, the following are the top 10 things tourists simply should NOT do.
- Never, ever try to pet a bison. They’re dangerous animals that are known to charge, severely injure and kill people.
- Visitors should never approach or surround buffalo. When wild animals feel threatened, especially when they are being surrounded, it can often result in them panicking and feeling a fight or flight response. If someone gets in between a buffalo and his/her escape route, a buffalo will not hesitate to mow a person over, potentially inflicting deadly harm.
- Consider this, the best-case scenario is that someone makes it away alive. The worst is obviously the opposite.
- Surrounding elk is also a bad idea. They will also charge people when they feel threatened.
- People often feel safe in their vehicles, but elk in autumn ruts are known to attack vehicles.
- Yes, that grizzly bear is beautiful from afar but should a visitor get out and attempt a close-up picture? Absolutely not! While most grizzlies avoid human contact, if they feel threatened, they are known to maul and kill. If someone values his or her life, he/she will stay put and slowly back away. It’s not worth risking a picture only to be killed or maimed.
- Leave tracking wolves to the professional experts. This is not a task for the average Joe.
- Do not travel off any designated trails, as the hydrothermal areas are extremely dangerous and can cause severe skin burns, which ultimately causes scaring.
- Handling wolf feces is not recommended, as much of it contains tapeworms that can be transmitted from handling. This is especially important for parents to remind their children.
- Having pets off leashes may seem like a good idea, but with all the abundant wildlife in the park, this is simply a temptation for wildlife to charge or injure a pet.
Yellowstone Holiday offers Hebgen Lake lodging and RV parks in West Yellowstone. Located outside the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone Holiday also offers camping in Yellowstone. With a convenient location to the outdoor natures of Yellowstone, visitors can easily explore Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.