Baby bison euthanized after ride in visitors' car
What a bummer....Article
Forum Discussion
Just saw an interview on Good Morning America with the father and son who did this. The son was probably about 35 or 40 years old, so this was no little boy. They said they wanted to tell their side of the story, and to dispell all the social media comments that they were clueless about animals.
In fact, they proved they were as clueless as people thought they were. And ABC news was just as clueless as well. The NPS is trying to manage Yellowstone as much as a natural environment as possible. If this bison calf could not make it across the water and got separated from the flock...so be it. Death and dying and predator/prey relationships are clearly a part of life. Some people may think this is cruel, and the baby bison should have been put up for adoption, but this isn't your pet pomeranian dog. It is a fact of life and nature. How many bison calves suffer the same fate, just out of site of the meddling tourist? And it is part of the life cycle, they will become food for wolves, bears, eagles and vultures. I'm pretty certain that if this hadn't become a media circus and if it hadn't happened in a location along the road, the NPS rangers would have simply returned the calf to the spot and let nature take its course. And that is how it SHOULD be.
These bison are not pets. Yellowstone is not a zoo. It tries to be a natural system, to the extent that it can be with being crowded with tourists much of the snow free period.
The ABC Good Morning America show should have had a wildlife expert or at least a representative from the Park Service to offer an intelligent interpretation of the situation. Instead, they said this father and son "knew about wildlife" because they had taken several father son trips to view wildlife in various parks. Sheesh.
In fact, they proved they were as clueless as people thought they were. And ABC news was just as clueless as well. The NPS is trying to manage Yellowstone as much as a natural environment as possible. If this bison calf could not make it across the water and got separated from the flock...so be it. Death and dying and predator/prey relationships are clearly a part of life. Some people may think this is cruel, and the baby bison should have been put up for adoption, but this isn't your pet pomeranian dog. It is a fact of life and nature. How many bison calves suffer the same fate, just out of site of the meddling tourist? And it is part of the life cycle, they will become food for wolves, bears, eagles and vultures. I'm pretty certain that if this hadn't become a media circus and if it hadn't happened in a location along the road, the NPS rangers would have simply returned the calf to the spot and let nature take its course. And that is how it SHOULD be.
These bison are not pets. Yellowstone is not a zoo. It tries to be a natural system, to the extent that it can be with being crowded with tourists much of the snow free period.
The ABC Good Morning America show should have had a wildlife expert or at least a representative from the Park Service to offer an intelligent interpretation of the situation. Instead, they said this father and son "knew about wildlife" because they had taken several father son trips to view wildlife in various parks. Sheesh.
