What to do if you encounter a bison
Popular Science...
It’s getting warmer, which means spending more time outside and hopefully exploring national parks. As we visit, it’s important to remember that these parks are their home and to behave as a guest. If visiting Yellowstone National Park’s iconic bison (Bison bison), Badlands National Park in South Dakota, Antelope State Park in Utah, or any other place where North America’s largest land mammals roam is on your spring and summer to-do list, here are some safety tips to keep in mind.
If you are driving:
- Stay at least 25 yards (roughly 75 feet away at all times. That is about the length of two school buses or enough distance where your thumb can fully cover up the bison when you close one eye.
- Never, ever approach the animal for a photo. Instead, use a camera with a good telephoto lens. Or as the National Park Service (NPS) puts it, “snapping a selfie is much more difficult when doing an impromptu backflip off the front of a bison.”
- Stay inside of your vehicle at all times
- Do not honk at the bison, even if it tries to claim your parking spot. “You’ll just end up in a standoff until you give up and drive away. Yeah, you’re not getting that spot,” the NPS cautions.
If you spot a bison on or near your trail while hiking, you have two good options.
- Back away and go back the way you came.
- Leave the trail entirely and give the animal a very wide berth when passing it. It is okay to go off the trail if your safety is at risk, according to Jeremy Shaw, the park manager at Antelope Island State Park.
“We’ve got trail restrictions on Antelope Island in the backcountry, but safety trumps those rules,” Shaw said. “If you are in the backcountry hiking and you come across any wildlife that’s in your path, we urge you to travel around it. Whatever distance you think you should remain from the animal, double it. That’s how far back you should stay.”
Exercising basic common sense and respecting these 2,000 pound animals and their space means that everyone gets to enjoy their time in nature and our national parks.
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