Heed Safety Warnings - National Parks Can Be Dangerous!

bikendan wrote:
here's a t-shirt i got when visiting Glacier NP, since i'm a firefighter.

Sad but true. Nice t-shirt!

These stories remind me of:

I grew up in Gainesville Florida and both of my folks worked at the
University of Florida Medical Center. My Dad used to tell the story of being in the hospital early one morning when a Frat Boy was brought in an ambulance with his arm stuck in the mouth of an alligator up to his shoulder.
Turns out he was driving back to Greek Row after a late night party and a couple of blocks before getting home this large gator was laying in the middle of the road and it was big enough that he could not drive around. He did not want to honk as it was late at night. So he go out to move the gator and it got a hold of him arm and clamped down.
An hour or so later a sheriff found him and the gator and could not figure out how to separate them. He thought about shooting the gator but was afraid that it would convulse and ripe the kids arm off. The gator appeared calm so he called for an ambulance and they loaded them locked together into the back and off to the ER.
When my dad got there in the morning the doctors at the ER were telling the ambulance guys that they could not bring a gator into the hospital even if he was connected to a college kid. They ended up pumping the gator full of tranquilizers then prying it's jaw open.

My understanding is that the kid was OK, just some bruises, and the gator was taken back to Lake Alice, directly across from Greek Row, which is now fenced.

here's a t-shirt i got when visiting Glacier NP, since i'm a firefighter.

When we were in Yellowstone, cars were backed up and we were waiting for quite a while. That's when I saw a guy feeding a large bighorn sheep an ice cream cone!

A ranger was called to push the sheep off the road and talk some sense into the idiot.

I too, love wildlife, and must admit getting a little too close (buffalo can run very fast) for their comfort. But, I never get that close and never feed.

People really do go to YS thinking that it's a park with staged animals posed for their entertainment. Reality is, they're living their lives trying to survive and we're mostly in their way.

Dog Folks wrote:
Absolutely the best thing to do.In nature, gators are shy animals and will move away from you.

The problem occurs when stupid people feed them,and they start associating food with man AND their walnut sized brain.

There, fixed it for you ;)

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Natural selection.......unfortunately they breed before getting selected.

LOL :B

True, you can't fix stupid. Sometimes the only way people learn is the hard way. Nature, however, has a way of fixing stupid permanently. Personally, I prefer to learn from other peoples' mistakes, rather than making my own.

Natural selection.......unfortunately they breed before getting selected.

"We see that same stupid stuff in Florida all the time. Because of shows like 'Gator Boys" People think you can just jump on the back of a gator. They are a helluva lot faster than you think they are.

When I see a gator, I give it a wide berth."

Absolutely the best thing to do.In nature, gators are shy animals and will move away from you.

The problem occurs when stupid people feed them,and they start associating food with man in their walnut sized brain. That will sign their death warrant as that particular gator must be killed.

Just like assuming every gun is loaded, the safest way is to assume that every gator has been fed by humans and has no fear.

SRT wrote:

amandasgramma wrote:

WishWeWereCamping wrote:
We were recently in Yosemite and I went to a "ranger talk" one evening in the amphitheater. The topic was about staying safe on your camping/hiking trips. The ranger started talking about rattlesnakes, and asked the audience where they thought most bites occurred on the body. The answer she gave was on the hand. Apparently people like to pick the snakes up and they get bit either when they pick them up or when they put them down. Other people like to get really close to the snakes so they can take their picture. I like to get as far away from them as I can.

We were driving a narrow curvy road in the Hell's Canyon area. Rounded a corner to find 2 men on bicycles stopped....BOTH in the middle of the road. One had a long stick and was teasing a huge rattlesnake. We stopped, informed them they were in a dangerous location AND the snake could kill.....they just laughed......... You can't fix stupid.

You are right! You can't fix stupid! :R

We see that same stupid stuff in Florida all the time. Because of shows like 'Gator Boys" People think you can just jump on the back of a gator. They are a helluva lot faster than you think they are.

When I see a gator, I give it a wide berth.