Karl Puckett

kpuckett@greatfallstribune.com

Visitors to Yellowstone National Park were cited last Monday for placing a newborn bison calf in their vehicle and transporting it to a park facility because they thought it needed assistance, prompting reminders at the nation’s first park for people to keep their distance from wildlife.

The National Park Service ended up euthanizing the calf after the herd rejected it because of the interaction with people.

“The calves have just been born in the past weeks so it was very young,” said Jo Suderman, a park spokeswoman.

After the calf was turned over to a ranger, the Park Service tried several times, with no success, to reunite it with the herd.

The calf was then killed because, abandoned, it was continually approaching people and cars along the road creating a dangerous situation.

The misplaced concern for the animal’s welfare was one of three recent examples this spring of visitors getting too close to one of the park’s most visible and dangerous animals.

Bulls weigh up to 2,000 pounds, and cows, 1,000 pounds. With a population of about 4,900, bison are responsible for more injuries to visitors than any other animal in the park, Suderman said. Last year, the Park Service said, five visitors were seriously injured when they approached bison too closely.

The visitors picked up the calf in the northeastern portion of the park between Tower-Roosevelt and the northeast entrance. They took it a few miles to the Lamar Buffalo Ranch to turn it over to a ranger.

“Of course, the bison calf need to be with the herd, not the ranger,” Suderman said.

It was dangerous to pick up the calf because adults are protective of their young, she said. In addition, interference by people can cause mothers to reject their offspring, the Park Service said.

The case remains under investigation. The visitors, who were fined $110, were cited for handling the bison calf, which is against park regulations requiring people to stay at least 25 yards away from all wildlife including bison, elk and deer, and at least 100 yards from bears and wolves.

In another instance of inappropriate interactions with wildlife, a visitor approached within an arm’s length of an adult bison in the Old Faithful area a few weeks ago, which was captured on a video that went viral. The bison, which was lying down, reared up but did not charge.

“The person was lucky to walk away,” Suderman said.

Another video featured visitors posing for pictures with bison at an unsafe and illegal distance.

Follow Karl Puckett on Twitter @GFTrib_KPuckett.

For more information

For more information about safety in Yellowstone, visit https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/safety.htm.