All the Stupid People

            One of my favorite things about walking through the woods, besides just having time all to myself, is the likelihood that I will see the native wildlife. In Ohio that generally means seeing a white tail or two, maybe a turkey or a coyote if I'm lucky. Each time it's a magical experience. They'll know I'm there and we'll just stare at each other. I'll sometime take a few photos and they eventually wander off. What I don't do is try to pet, get close to, or in any way interact with them.

            That's why every time I hear about some tourist at Yellowstone that was gored by a bison I can only sigh and shake my head. It's not an uncommon occurrence at the national parks for something like this to happen or just barely be avoided thanks to the quick actions of a park ranger. Alright, I suppose if you consider the park visitor to injury ratio these kinds of things are somewhat rare. It's just that anytime something like this does happen it's well publicized.

            The trouble is that in almost every case the tourist was doing something stupid. Trying to take a selfie with a bison is just asking for trouble. Playing with a bear cub right next to a salmon run is even worse. Putting your young daughter on the back of a Bison is just... Why? What did you think was going to happen?

            It's not like these people can feign ignorance either. 

There. 

Are. 

Signs.

            There are signs everywhere telling visitors to stay a good distance away from the wildlife. They have no excuse. It's just common sense to keep a good distance between anything bigger than 500 pounds and has teeth or horns but if these tourists can't be bothered to read the warnings, odds are they don't have much good sense.

            I would love to pinpoint a cause to these kinds of things. Maybe argue that we live in a society that is too used to animals being domesticated and safe, but the sad truth is that this is not a new phenomenon, it's just better publicized. The sad, sad truth is that some people are dumb, ignorant, or both. Dammit people you're breathing, you must have a brain. Use it.