As the old saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Recently, a father and son visiting Yellowstone National Park made a poor choice, one which they thought was helpful. Their actions led to the death of a wild animal, and the internet erupted with outrage over a euthanized bison calf. What went wrong?
Driving through the park, the pair saw a bison calf and thought it was in danger of freezing. They loaded the calf into the back of their SUV and delivered it to a nearby ranger station. Sadly, once the calf was returned to its herd, the other animals rejected it, likely due to its interaction with humans. Now the threat to the calf’s life was very real.
Ostracized from the herd, the stressed calf began to approach other two-legged visitors to the park as well as walk up to cars. The situation was becoming dangerous to not only the lonely animal, but to the human visitors as well. Rangers made the difficult decision to have the calf put down.
Social media went mad with derision over the poor choice made by the people who first picked up the calf. It should be noted that they were first time visitors to the park, vacationers from a foreign land. They either did not understand, or chose to ignore, the warning signs telling people not to interact with the wildlife. They certainly did not know that these bison live in the park year round and can survive the extreme winter conditions of the region without help from humans, a far cry from the current springtime weather.
Always remember that animals in the wild are just that: wild. They are not there for your amusement or for an awesome selfie opportunity. Take a “look, but don’t touch” approach to these creatures and let them live in peace. If the outrage over this euthanized bison calf can accomplish anything, it can serve as a stern warning that just because your intentions are good, the consequences could be tragic.
Featured Image from christie greene/Unsplash
