A bison calf that tourists loaded into their vehicle at Yellowstone National Park because they were concerned for its welfare has spurred warnings to avoid wildlife after the animal had to be put down.
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It wasn’t, park officials said – it was the human interference that actually endangered the animal.
Park rangers tried repeatedly to reunite the newborn bison calf with the herd but those efforts failed, according to park officials.
‘This year we’ve added translations of the safety signage and provide park newspaper translations in a number of different languages, ‘ she said in a statement.
The park berated visitors for taking selfies and recording video near the bison, flouting regulations demanding people stay at least 25 yards away.
Following the kidnapping of a bison calf last week, the National Parks Service has announced that the baby animal has now been euthanised.
“They were seriously anxious that the calf was freezing and dying”, she said.
A bison calf put into a SUV by tourists at Yellowstone National Park had to be euthanized when it was not accepted back into its herd, after several unsuccessful attempts.
Rangers say picking up the calf was risky because adult bison are very protective of their young and could attack, the Associated Press reports.
A park visitor told EastIdahoNews.com that she saw the tourists, a father and a son, pull up to a ranger station with the bison in their SUV, the Sacramento Bee reported.
“This time of year especially they’re a lot of baby animals around and about you know particularly in this town, deer fawns”, said Frank McGee, Ariel Wildlife Manager with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. In another, tourists posed for photos dangerously close to bison. Officials said five visitors were seriously injured because of this past year.
“‘They didn’t care, ‘ Heusevelet says”.
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It would have had to go through months of quarantine to be monitored for [diseases.] Our job here is not to rescue animals, but to maintain the ecological processes and integrity of this wild place.
