“ Yellowstone National Park staff killed a newborn bison after a visitor helped it cross a river, an apparent rescue effort that prompted the calf’s herd to reject the animal, park officials said Tuesday.

The calf had been separated from its mother when the herd crossed a river in a northern section of the park on Saturday, Yellowstone said in a news release.

As the calf struggled to cross the river, the man approached the animal and pushed it up from the river and onto a roadway, the release says.

Visitors later saw the calf walk up to cars and people and follow them, according to the release.

Park rangers tried repeatedly to reunite the calf with the herd, but the efforts failed, according to the release, which notes that interference from people can cause wildlife to reject their offspring.

After the failed reunification efforts, park staff killed the newborn “because it was abandoned by the herd and causing a hazardous situation by approaching cars and people along the roadway,” the release says.

The release pointed to park regulations requiring visitors to stay at least 25 yards from all wildlife, including bison, elk and deer, and 100 yards from bears and wolves. “


[news.yahoo.com]

A couple of my bison shots:

So sad

Leave the baby animals alone… they imprint SO easily.

Dumb visitor.

Followed a link to a related article where the Park Service explains why they don't rescue wild life. Their mission is to preserve wilderness. Death is a part of the cycle of like in the wilderness.

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If you want to fix our country, work with us in the states. statesproject.org

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It is hard for people to watch a creature die, especially when it is a baby. We even saw that here recently when a forum member took exception to something eating the baby birds in a nest he was watching. I'm sure the man in the photo thought he was saving the creature from drowning. For that I'll forgive him as the likely outcome was the same either way.

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cbelt3
Leave the baby animals alone… they imprint SO easily.

Dumb visitor.

From the description, it sounds like it had already been abandoned by its herd.

While helping may have been a mistake, my guess is that it was a harmless mistake.

And it did have a potential payoff.

The Park Service enjoys telling people that they’re idiots.

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If they said I could have it, I would have put Junior in the car, picked up some Similac, and drove him to San Francisco to dump him in Golden Gate Park's Bison area. Those do-gooder caretakers would have fawned all over it San Francisco style.

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vision63
If they said I could have it, I would have put Junior in the car, picked up some Similac, and drove him to San Francisco to dump him in Golden Gate Park's Bison area. Those do-gooder caretakers would have fawned all over it San Francisco style.

I was wondering why they didn’t try to find a zoo or refuge that would take it, but I guess that is against policy or something

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

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Tiangou

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cbelt3
Leave the baby animals alone… they imprint SO easily.

Dumb visitor.

From the description, it sounds like it had already been abandoned by its herd.

While helping may have been a mistake, my guess is that it was a harmless mistake.

And it did have a potential payoff.

The Park Service enjoys telling people that they’re idiots.

that was my impression too...

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Tiangou
From the description, it sounds like it had already been abandoned by its herd.

.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2023 05:29PM by btfc.

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hal

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Tiangou

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cbelt3
Leave the baby animals alone… they imprint SO easily.

Dumb visitor.

From the description, it sounds like it had already been abandoned by its herd.

While helping may have been a mistake, my guess is that it was a harmless mistake.

And it did have a potential payoff.

The Park Service enjoys telling people that they’re idiots.

that was my impression too...

I wonder why the Park service would have such a poor attitude toward visitors and think they are idiots...

[www.latimes.com]

[www.forbes.com]

[www.usatoday.com]

[6abc.com]

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C(-)ris
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This shot was part of a long episode.

The cow and calf were crossing the river when the calf started to be swept down stream. It was really struggling for a while I thought it might drown. After it was swept down about 100 yards, the cow was able to push it over to the bank. The calf tried several times to climb the bank, off to the left of what the picture shows, but it couldn’t make it up and kept on falling back into the river. It stood there shivering for a long while, and seemed exhausted and hypothermic. For a second time I thought I might see it die. Once the calf made it to the bank, the cow started eating. You can see how thin she is.

I was a lifeguard at the time, and it wasn’t easy to just watch.

Finally the calf went upstream a little way to where the bank wasn’t as steep, and was able to scramble out.

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hal

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Tiangou

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cbelt3
Leave the baby animals alone… they imprint SO easily.

Dumb visitor.

From the description, it sounds like it had already been abandoned by its herd.

While helping may have been a mistake, my guess is that it was a harmless mistake.

And it did have a potential payoff.

The Park Service enjoys telling people that they’re idiots.

that was my impression too...

A couple of points:

Most of the Yellowstone rangers I’ve met have been pretty cool. I’ve been friends with several.

The ones I know would work three weeks in the backcountry, and then a week in the front country.

That week was generally not liked.

Yes, they tend to stick pretty close to the rulebook.

People do incredibly dumb things around the bear/moose/elk/bighorn sheep jams that occur many times a day. It can be incredibly frustrating just to drive through sometimes; I can only imagine what it is like trying to police it.

There are signs everywhere that say “ Do Not Approach Wildlife “.

When something like this happens, to just ignore it would be hugely counterproductive.

And yes, Yellowstone tries to maintain a functioning ecosystem, and other wildlife survive because some don ‘t make it.

I did one spring trip where every time I saw elk calves, at least one was being eaten by something.


Also: I don’t know the exact circumstances yet, but a larger herd crossing a river can be really chaotic, and it is not uncommon for calves to get temporarily separated. Calves are only a few weeks old at this point. Cows and calves are really good at locating each other, and the rest of the herd are protective of calves as well.

Without all the people around, that calf may have fared better.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2023 06:28PM by btfc.

You can't save everybody.


An adage that's tough to learn, and it applies to animals as well.

As mistakes made by humans go, I don't know this was a bad one.

The calf might have made it ashore eventually, or it would have drowned.

There are tons of YouTube videos showing people helping young wild animals from difficulties after which they're happily reunited with a parent.

Who knew a bison calf could be imprinted so easily and quickly.

The Park Service.



The Park Service enjoys telling people that they’re idiots.


I've never had that experience, possibly because I'm not an idiot.

But I bet the Park Service gets far more opportunities to tell idiots they're idiots than most would like.

A friend routinely made annual trips to Yosemite with a group, and he was always lead puppy.

One of the things is did was remind everyone to put all food in the lockers so the bears don't do damage or harm trying to get it.

Someone decided it was inconvenient and left their provisions in the car.

There were three meals and then lights out.

Everyone was awakened by the sound of breaking glass and screeching metal.

A bear removed pulled the door down from the top, bending nearly in half, breaking the glass.

It got into the food, ate some and stole a bunch in a container.

Banging pots and pans, yelling and scream at it, the bear eventually ambled off.

The irate 'victim' went to the Rangers to complain blah blah, and one came to the camp to 'Investigate'

He said something to the effect that it looked like the 'victim' didn't put the food in the locker.

Members of the group shared their food for the week.

My friend did not – 'I told you to use the locker'.

You can't teach everybody.

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The park released a pic of the perp and are asking for tips on locating him.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

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rgG

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vision63
If they said I could have it, I would have put Junior in the car, picked up some Similac, and drove him to San Francisco to dump him in Golden Gate Park's Bison area. Those do-gooder caretakers would have fawned all over it San Francisco style.

I was wondering why they didn’t try to find a zoo or refuge that would take it, but I guess that is against policy or something

Veal?

BBQ?

In all seriousness, every park ranger I've met is knowledgeable and friendly, as long as you're not doing stupid tihs!

But I've heard that Rangers call spring with Bison as "Tourist Tossing Season"!

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San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
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I know that around here (very much the opposite of bison country), there are a bunch of "sanctuary" farms popping up to take in abandoned and released animals.

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Hurts like a bastid...

The Park Service enjoys telling people that they’re idiots.

Was actually referring to the folks in the back offices who make news/social-media posts.

Never had a problem with park rangers.

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vision63
If they said I could have it, I would have put Junior in the car, picked up some Similac, and drove him to San Francisco to dump him in Golden Gate Park's Bison area. Those do-gooder caretakers would have fawned all over it San Francisco style.

This was my thought. Based on the account presented here, it sounds like the calf would have perished whether or not it received the human's aid. The NPS folks could have arranged for the calf to be sent to a preserve but as already stated, that is not part of their mission.

But they could have.

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It is what it is.

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N-OS X-tasy!

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vision63
If they said I could have it, I would have put Junior in the car, picked up some Similac, and drove him to San Francisco to dump him in Golden Gate Park's Bison area. Those do-gooder caretakers would have fawned all over it San Francisco style.

This was my thought. Based on the account presented here, it sounds like the calf would have perished whether or not it received the human's aid. The NPS folks could have arranged for the calf to be sent to a preserve but as already stated, that is not part of their mission.

But they could have.

Or maybe they couldn't have sent the calf to a preserve, Yellowstone is a reservoir for brucellosis. Bison and elk are infected with it.