A town near Yellowstone is cracking down on tourists and their bad behavior. This comes after a woman got gored by trying to take a picture with a bison.
Jackson, Wyoming is a popular place for tourists. It's close to both Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park, making it a top place for tourists to crash for the night. To deter from tourists taking selfies with wild animals, Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board is releasing a new Instagram filter.
It allows tourists to pose virtually with bison, moose, and bears. The town near Yellowstone hopes that this will help stop stubborn tourists from trying to take selfies with wild animals.
"Grizzles run at 35 mph. Humans? 8. You do the math," the organization public service announcement stated. The filter also comes with a warning, showing the proper safe distance from animals. "If the animal is bigger than the icon, you're too close!"
Yellowstone Town Cracks Down
Are you curious about what that distance is? Well, you should stay 100 yards away from 100 yards. Meanwhile, you should stay at least 25 yards away from deer, moose, and bison. But more andmore people are ignoring these warnings. The town has seen an increase in dangerous animal encounter — all in the name of getting a photo.
"Many [tourists] are coming without the information of knowing and understanding that these are wild animals, that this is not a zoo, and that these animals need space," the board's executive director Crista Valentino told ABC News. "If you get between a mom and a baby moose, that mom will very quickly close that gap and defend its young," she warned.
However, the animals shouldn't be blamed. They're just defending themselves.
"We've all seen the videos on social media: someone gets too close to a bison for a selfie and the next thing you know, they are on the news with wild-animal-induced injuries," the Jackson PSA plea also stated.
Besides humans, people also pose a risk to the animals as well. If they harm someone then there's a greater chance that authorities will have to put them down.
"We're hoping to really see those negative interactions decline," she said.
