Sad week for Yellowstone

Being a lifelong Wyoming resident, I can’t help but get upset every time I read about someone doing something stupid at Yellowstone National Park.

Stupid is the only real word here, as I’m sure anyone reading this has the sense to not walk up to a bison and pet it, purposefully walk over the Grand Prismatic Springs or take a bison calf to a ranger station because it looks cold. Yet, each of those situations I just described has actually happened.

The worst of the bunch is the Grand Prismatic Springs incident, where four people involved in a Canadian clothing company called High on Life walked off the boardwalk and directly onto the delicate crust at the springs in an attempt to capture video and photos. The group offered a half-hearted apology on their Facebook page and website and have pledged $5,000 to the park. They’re also attempting to get their apology spread across social media.

The High of Life foursome are the worst. In pledging a donation to the park, only if people comment a personal story about the park on their Facebook page, they’re using their sudden infamy to promote themselves and their clothing company. They took photos of the signs before stepping onto the springs, which means they were fully aware of what they were doing. There was no “over zealous enthusiasm” as they claim they had, they willfully disregarded the warnings and potential consequences of walking directly onto the springs in order to shoot exciting video for their website. I think it’s safe to say their act was fueled by the narcissism of wanting to be internet famous and promote their brand.

The four face federal charges and hopefully others will learn from their selfish attitudes.

The case of the buffalo calf is a tragic case of ignorance. It’s unfortunate to see people so accustomed to urban living they think a national park is nothing more than a petting zoo. The calf unfortunately was euthanized after attempts to re-introduce it to the herd and its mother failed, but the situation could have been more tragic if the mother decided to attack the people handling her calf.

It’s hard to say how these sorts of incidents should be dealt with. Obviously there are too many park visitors to police, though penalties should be more severe in order to discourage some of the bad behavior seen at the park. In regards to more ignorant people who believe the park is a petting zoo, that one is more difficult. Perhaps a brief test should be administered; and people who fail get pamphlets suggesting an alternate destination away from the park.