Guy Learns Why You Should Never Taunt A Wild Bison
On Tuesday evening, Lindsey Jones and her family were driving through Yellowstone National Park when they got much more than they bargained for.
While stuck in traffic, Jones spotted a large bison playing nearby, and grabbed her camera.
“During a traffic jam we noticed a bison rubbing his head on the bottom of a tree,” Jones told The Dodo. “He slid down the hill he was on while trying to roll and we decided to try to catch him on camera.”
She continued to film from a distance as he walked down the road — and then she saw that the bison had company.
“We happened to notice a gentleman walking down the center of traffic without any shoes on,” Jones said. “I continued to film as the man proceeded to confront the large animal.”
Jones and her family were shocked by the man’s bold attitude — and by the bison’s mild manner as he crossed to the opposite side of the street. Though the bison had tried to avoid him, the man continued to approach, and then began to provoke the 1,000-plus pound animal.
Jones was shocked by what the man did next.
“I could not make out what he was saying to the animal, but he was gesturing for him to get off the road,” Jones continued, “and then basically squared up with his arms and challenged the animal in front of us all.”
Her laughter turned to worry as the bison turned and approached the man, and then, after pointing his horns down — charged. Terrified by what she was about to witness, Jones put her camera down, saying, “Oh God, oh no no no — I can’t watch!”
Luckily, the bison decided that the annoying man just wasn’t worth the effort, seeming to back off mere inches from the man.
“I was afraid that it could end up much worse than it did,” Jones added. “Thankfully, there were no apparent injuries and the bison carried on with his stroll down the road. We are unsure of what happened to the man after the incident as traffic continued to move and he fell out of our sight.”
The park, known for its local elk, buffalo, grizzly bears and coyote, can be a dangerous place to visit if proper safety precautions are ignored — as can any area where wild animals are common.
“Never approach animals or block traffic to view them. The animals in Yellowstone are wild and unpredictable, no matter how calm they appear to be,” the National Park Service cautions. “Always stay at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves, and at least 25 yards (23 m) away from all other animals, including bison and elk.”
Jones posted the tense video on her Facebook page, along with the caption, “#dontdrinkandbuffalo.” While it’s unknown if the shoeless man was actually inebriated or not, provoking a bison into a face-off certainly isn’t a decision made soberly.