A Quebec father and son who came under fire after causing a baby bison to be euthanized after putting it in his SUV said they are upset at criticism they’ve faced from a public and media they say haven’t heard the whole story.

“It was just terrible, we were upset,” said Shakeel Kassam. “We were upset first and foremost they had to euthanize the bison calf we tried to save. But we were upset about the media coverage as well because they didn’t know the entire side of the story.”

Initial media report stated that Shakeel’s father Shamash Kassam told rangers at Yellowstone National Park that he had put the bison in his car because it looked cold. He clarified to CTV News that a guide had told him the calf had just come out of the water and had been abandoned by its herd.

“I got out of the car to see how the calf was doing and I could see it was shaking,” said Shakeel. “It was wet and there was no bison around and we decided then to get in the car and go our own way.”

Half a mile later, his father decided they should try and save the bison.

“It was a thought that left alone, it’s either going to be road kill or eaten by other animals, coyotes or wolves or bears,”said Shamash.

The two turned back and found the calf, which they said came running to them. They waited 20 minutes to see if the calf’s herd would return and after darkness began to set, they tried to call 911 but found they had no cell phone service. Fearing other animals would get to the animal before they could return, they decided to bring it to a ranger station.

There, a sympathetic ranger informed them that what they had done was illegal and were given a $135 fine and $435 citation.

“Knowing what we know now, we wouldn’t do it again,” said Shamash, adding. “You have to understand, I didn’t think I was breaking rules. This animal was touching me, it came to us. I didn’t go to it. When I picked it up, my whole shirt was red from blood. It was a fresh-born calf. The umbilical cord was still bleeding.”

“We felt sorry,” added Shakeel. “Any human being out there would have probably done the same thing. We had no idea what the end result was.”