Nothing quite like a good old fashioned “But they look like cows, let me see if I can get a selfie with it,” jackass moment. What’s next?
Ouch.
That was like a human version of the Moscow refinery oil tank frisbee toss. Hope that guy ends up OK.
In my family that would result in one of the G-kids saying at the next Christmas party:
“Hey G-Pa, remember when you got the twisties like Simone Biles? Tell us that story again!”
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As someone who spent 8 years taking care of people and naval hospitals, including 3 years working with an emergency department, I don’t want the guy necessarily die, but I do not wish him well either. He really really means to serve as an object lesson to countless people about the price of rampant stupidity, especially in an era where the president has a lot of people thinking they can do anything they want to and nobody can stop them
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I hope he doesn’t die. That said, leaving a wide berth between yourself and the local fauna is a good idea. I always figured that is why god created telephoto lenses.
And I hate selfies…just saying.
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I’m glad he didn’t just get stomped. Getting tossed prolly saved him. I was going to post this but didn’t want to get yelled at. What I find amazing is how many people defend the guys. “They weren’t too close”. “It’s a campground” etc. ad nauseum.
The great beast was literally hopping mad. It had just wreaked havoc on the place to peels of screaming campers abandoning their sites. I wonder why they even had a curiosity to snap a shot let alone engage in direct contact with a 2,00 lb animal that can run 2x faster than the fastest human and most horses. Just the way the thing jumped to it’s feet was kind of terrifying. Watching it rip apart an 8 foot pine tree like a beach umbrella was pretty impressive too.
Certainly hope the man does well and glad the kid wasn’t harmed; sometimes however, the best thing we can do as humans is to humbly acknowledge how defenseless we are to such an amazing and dangerous animal.
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Having heard the witness account from the guy that produced the video, this guy wasn’t doing anything to harass or antagonize the beast. He was well beyond the recommended distance to observe the creature. I think it was a case of wrong place, wrong time with a creature hyped up on hormones during rutting season. Hope he recovers quickly.
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Yep. I’ve been around Bison, they’re normally like cattle.
When that bull tried to attack the small pine tree, I thought. “Uh-oh.”
Glad he didn’t land on his head.
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I think it’s really important to observe and appreciate animals for what they are.
The beast was already antagonized. Like, super-duper pissed off.
They were not well beyond recommended distance. Recommended distance is a recommendation. Not a guarantee for safety: at least 25 yards but the actual distance is also 100 yards (thumb size in scale). Antagonized bison cover 100 yards in 5-6 seconds. I wish the man no ill will but, if seals are in the water, so are sharks. If waves are over 3 feet high, there’s a rip current somewhere on that beach. Bears attack people all the time. If you come upon a gut pile, there’s a cougar, wolves or a grizzly nearby. Maybe too many people have tried to get a photo-op on that particular bison.
I’m sure he is a nice man and didn’t intend to intrude, but that’s apparently the result of being there.
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I’ve ridden a motorcycle through Yellowstone and remember thinking to myself I’m toast if traffic stalls, as it often does for gawkers, and there is a bear or a thundering heard of bison running through. I probably was taking a greater risk than that guy felt he was taking, and i certainly passed bison closer than 100 yards, not hard to do anywhere in the park.
But in my mind i wasn’t taking an unreasonable risk. Life is full of decisions, and if you are active, some of those decisions come with risk. If you’re smart and value your health you try to mitigate the risk, but in the case of Yellowstone you don’t eliminate it. You and i will just disagree about the risk this guy took.
Campers in Yellowstone get mauled by bears, they could have avoided it by not camping. Unfortunately, $#!+ happens.
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~stolen from Bluesky
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