Yellowstone: Bison put in car by tourists euthanized

[jpak]

Source: KKTV.com

Officials at Yellowstone National Park say a bison that was placed in a car by tourists because it looked like it was "dying and freezing" had to be put down.

In a Facebook post, Yellowstone said "the interference by people can cause mothers reject their offspring. In this case, park rangers tried repeatedly to reunite the newborn calf with the herd."

However, park officials said the reunion failed and the young calf had to be euthanized because it was abandoned "and causing a dangerous situation by continually approaching people and cars along the roadway."

<more>

Read more: http://www.kktv.com/content/news/Yellowstone-Bison-put-in-car-by-tourists-euthanized-379678361.html

---

poor liitle guy

[Stryst]

1. So will there be any new charges against

the idiots that did this?

[villager]

2. Hard to believe they couldn't have found an animal rescue facility for the wee young bison...

Still, a perfect metaphor, really, for our "National Animal."

[LisaL]

55. It doesn't sound as if they tried.

Must be not in their policy.

[onecaliberal]

3. Why couldn't they rescue it and send it somewhere? Why did they kill him?

[SamKnause]

4. There was no animal sanctuary that could take in this bison calf ???

I find that impossible to believe.

[Nay]

7. Yeah, WTF?? This is impossible to believe. nt

[abelenkpe]

10. Same here.

It's total BS they "had" to put him down.

[Demit]

12. Oh look, I clicked on the link:

"Yellowstone National Park: Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read this post and share our safety messages. We're reading through your comments and noticed many people asking why the calf had to be euthanized.

In order to ship the calf out of the park, it would have had to go through months of quarantine to be monitored for brucellosis. No approved quarantine facilities exist at this time, and we don't have the capacity to care for a calf that's too young to forage on its own. Nor is it the mission of the National Park Service to rescue animals: our goal is to maintain the ecological processes of Yellowstone. Even though humans were involved in this case, it is not uncommon for bison, especially young mothers, to lose or abandon their calves. Those animals typically die of starvation or predation."

[Beartracks]

16. +1 for reading and finding the answer! n/t

[The Green Manalishi]

23. Maybe the idiots that did this should have been made to pay for the entire cost

of caring for and rehabilitating or rehoming the calf?

The wrongdoer should *ALWAYS* have to cover the entirety of the cost of their damage.

[jberryhill]

32. It may well be that the calf had already been abandoned in the first place

Herd animals of all kinds will occasionally reject a calf for all sorts of reasons.

It may well be that the reason the mother was nowhere near to intervene in the first place is that the calf had already been abandoned.

The tourists in question are unlikely to be amenable to further legal consequences beyond the citation they were issued, as they are not US residents.

[The Green Manalishi]

56. I do not see why the fact they are not citizens should mean anything

In this or any other legal matter. You break the law, you pay the price (regardless of if one is descended from the Mayflower families, a longtime undocumented immigrant or a tourist). And when it's essentially vandalism the price should be enough to make worldwide headlines.
If I went and spray painted something on the Acropolis or the Sphinx or something else iconic to that culture I should be given a punishment that makes the front page of CNN. International shame and ridicule and a fine equal to the complete cost of mitigating any and all damage should be the standard.

[villager]

60. Oh look, not very convincing:

"Nor is it the mission of the National Park Service to rescue animals"

As for brucellosis, that's long been a sop/excuse to welfare ranchers to restrain bison herds, and keep from a fuller expansion of previous rangelands:

http://newwest.net/topic/article/can_bison_buffalo_actually_transmit_brucellosis_cattle_yellowstone_montana/C619/L619/

[Demit]

62. Take it up with the National Park Service.

[villager]

63. Precisely my point -- equivocation all around. nt

[montanacowboy]

5. Are You Shitting Me?

What kind of people run these places? Are there no refuges - are there no animal rescue parks, is there no one to take him? I call bullshit.

[OldHippieChick]

9. Your moniker suggests you live up there and might be able to

answer that question. Many people do not understand that Yellowstone is not exactly in the middle of Chicago and not that many animal rescue sites exist. Those that do, I submit, cater to dogs, cats and horses. I'm sure there are some that take cows and pigs, but I do not imagine a bison is a usual animal.

This is very sad, but I do not believe the Park Rangers chose to euthanize before checking other options.

[danimich1]

14. There are wildlife rehab groups in the area

However, the local fish and wildlife agencies don't like to allow them to help animals that are hunted. Sometimes they use an excuse such as medications given to the animals could harm hunters who kill and eat them. Remember, they slaughter many of these bison every winter when they wander off the park, so it's not like they really care about those animals. They make a lot of money from selling licenses to "hunters" to slaughter them every single year.

[OldHippieChick]

17. This just in:

Yellowstone just posted that brucellosis is in the herd, and the calf would need to be quarantined for months in a facility with round the clock care--a facility which doesn't exist

[danimich1]

34. That's their excuse for the slaughter every winter

Even though (last I heard) there is no known case of brucellosis transferring from bison to other animals, they use it as an excuse to kill them when they follow the groomed trails off the park - because you know we have to protect those cattle ranchers from getting exposed to brucellosis. But for some reason, even though the elk have it too, they don't seem so worried about the elk transferring it to the cattle (that are usually grazing on public land). Perhaps that's because so much money is made from those elk hunts? I'm guessing it would have cost too much to vaccinate that bison with the brucellosis vaccine.

[magical thyme]

13. probably none close enough to get him to in reasonable time frame...

He probably was without food for a couple days already while they tried to get him back in his herd.

And it's not likely that they had a ready supply of bison milk substitute on hand to care for him in the meantime.

[Drahthaardogs]

15. Biologists with budgets and protocols.

Eom.

[jwirr]

31. While I am sorry they had to euthanize the calf it strikes

me as rather interesting that on DU a site that most of us believe in science that we are so against these people allowing nature to take its course. The people to be angry at are the tourists that interfered with nature in the first place.

Also since there is a disease in the herd there would be a real outcry from the area that this calf would have been taken to for care.

I like all of you find nature to be very cruel so many times but when we take measures to stop the process we usually do more harm than good. The possible spread of that disease could have caused even more harm than the death of the calf.

One of the cruelties of nature that farmers and ranchers often see is the mother animal that rejects her calf for some unknown reason. Here we know the reason - tourists.

[jberryhill]

33. No, we don't really know the reason

One of the cruelties of nature that farmers and ranchers often see is the mother animal that rejects her calf for some unknown reason. Here we know the reason - tourists.

One question the original story had suggested is that mothers can be quite aggressive in defending their young, but these idiots seem to have had no problem loading the animal into the back of their car.

[Drahthaardogs]

44. The rangers are not wildlife rehabilitators

It is inconsequential. People here are emotional and anthropomorphize everything. For the record, a dog is an animal, not a furry baby.

[Brickbat]

18. Pre-weaned orphaned bison don't take well to bottle-feeding.

[yellowcanine]

25. Yellowstone is not a zoo. The animals are managed by wildlife biologists. They know a bit more

than people here about what is best. And a baby bison is a bit more challenging than your typical wildlife rescue, I suspect.

[KT2000]

6. Yellowstone training for workers

includes a list of atrocious behavior by tourists to watch out for. People will surround an animal for picture taking and blame the animal when it panics and charges. People have been known to place their children on the back of black bears for a photo. Many approach the black bears and their cubs for a close-up photo.

Some assume they are in Disneyland where everything is set up for their enjoyment and safety. The concept that they are visitors in the animals' home does not compute.

[tblue37]

8. They even have a name for them: "tourons"--a mashup of "tourists" and "morons." nt

[Hoppy]

28. News flash.... you spelled moron wrong. It is "moran." Therefore, "Tourans" would be more correct.

As in, "Get a brain, touran."

[Xolodno]

20. Lots of stupid people out there.

When I worked at Disneyland we had a saying: "Watch out for the guests safety, because when they check into the park, their brain checks out".

When I went hiking up the Virgin River in Zion's National Park, on the way to the trail there are signs EVERYWHERE to not feed the squirrels. What were people doing? Feeding the squirrels.

To bad for beating the shit out of people for doing these type of things is illegal.

[GreenEyedLefty]

26. We have visited a few dozen national parks over the years.

And I think that people view them as theme parks, thanks in part to the advertising and promotion of them. Because Congress fails to adequately fund them, this forces the parks to rely on tourist admission $$ to keep themselves solvent.

The theme park mentality gives people a false sense of security. I have seen people doing incredibly stupid and dangerous things - stepping into the Yellowstone River near the top of the falls to snap selfies. Walking right up to bison and elk for the same purpose. Chasing bears - I found myself hoping the bears would turn and attack. Some poor kid died when the cliff edge she was perched on (despite the signage warning against this) collapsed underneath her. Some asshole with a drone (illegal and for good reason) at Grand Canyon. And on and on and on...

Unfortunately it's getting to the point where the only way to view the parks will be from shuttle buses. Parts of Grand Canyon and almost all of Zion NP are already this way... we haven't been to the California parks yet and I imagine they are already like this.

[magical thyme]

11. well I hope the moronic do-gooders who took the calf to begin with

are proud of themselves. Fucking ignorant assholes.

[Major Nikon]

22. The park rangers are suggesting the ultimate outcome would have been the same

Had they tried to remove a calf from its mother, they would have almost certainly been attacked. So in all likelihood the calf was abandoned and was going to die one way or another, so its euthanasia may have actually spared it a lot of suffering. So it's not exactly a tribute to the the stupidity of the tourists, but not necessarily a bad ending to a sad story.

[magical thyme]

24. that's probably true. but I'm fucking sick to death of people thinking they're above rules

This is a real hot button for me.

Trespassers who think *my* horses are *their* petting zoo. My old gelding was allergic to apples, and yes, just one could potentially kill him. And for the horses that aren't allergic, "just one" per passerby could be dozens in a hurry -- enough to colic the rest of the horses.

None of us appreciated our horses having to be kept in from the pasture mid-August through October because fucking assholes ignore "No trespassing" signs, "do not feed the horses" signs, and stole apples from the *commercial* orchard next door just so they can feed *our* horses and possibly fucking kill them.

I don't appreciate the asshole trespasser who let himself into my pasture and didn't bother to shut the gate behind him. I found my horse loose by the side of the road. Luckily he didn't go out into the road, or he could have lost his life and I could have lost everything in resulting lawsuits. I did kick my own ass around the yard for a week thinking I'd been careless -- until the asshole came back and told me he'd been there the week before.

The poor barn owner did not appreciate coming home from work to find half a million dollars worth of her homebred european warmbloods running loose in the street, because a fucking contractor working at the property next door decided that *her* fence on *her* property was "in his way" so he fucking took it down and left it in a heap.

There are signs there for a fucking reason and believe or not, Mr and Ms GUEST ON THE PROPERTY -- you do NOT know more than the people who manage the property and you DO have an obligation to RESPECT and FOLLOW THE FUCKING RULES.

[Human101948]

36. Shoot a few trespassers and put their severed head on poles around the property as a warning...

that will discourage most of them.

[magical thyme]

40. works for me

[islandmkl]

53. don't forget the tar...apparently,according to Game of Thrones, it preserves the presentation...

[Nye Bevan]

59. A lifetime ban from all National Parks would probably be an appropriate response (nt)

[jwirr]

35. Yes, I had wondered why the mother did not attack when they

got close to her baby. I have been on farms where they raise several head of buffalo and know that they can be very dangerous and protective of their babies.

[AlbertCat]

39. The park rangers are suggesting the ultimate outcome would have been the same

That's what I get from all this.

euthanasia is more humane than starving to death.

[matt819]

19. Sad, certainly, but understandable

If there's no quarantine facility, there's no quarantine facility. Sure, you may wish it to be otherwise, but that's the reality. Without intervention by idiotic tourists, mothers can still lose or abandon calves. These things happen. And the mothers may die, which is likely to result in the death of the calves. Again, these things happen. I don't doubt that the park officials and park rangers know about these things and did the best they could. Would it be nice if there were options? Would a more emotionally satisfying outcome been better (at least for us humans? Sure. That didn't happen in this case.

As for wildlife rehabilitators (and assuming no disease or threat of disease), that option works fine if you're talking about birds or small mammals. The baby bison, while cute as can be now, is going to be huge, and not likely to be able to fend for itself later.

Maybe park officials didn't think it needed to be pointed out, and that's something they could rectify, but you don't mess with wild animal babies. That comes up regularly in New England. Even if you come across a baby deer that seems abandoned, it probably isn't. The mother is out doing whatever the mothers do and she has set her baby up where she wants and where she thinks it will be safe. Sometimes she's right, sometimes not, but in the meantime, if you come across the baby, leave it alone. When in doubt, do nothing. And if that bothers you, then look up a number to call and ask someone who knows these things.

[7wo7rees]

38. "Don't mess with animal babies" So true.

Round about 50 years ago, living on our farm/ranch I disobeyed my Grandpa. One of our cows had just had a baby in the late afternoon. Grandpa made it clear just to watch and to stay away. I didn't understand what could possibly be the harm and when he turned his back, I crawled underneath the fence and walked over and petted the very cute, brand new beautiful baby. Grandpa caught me, I was chastised for not listening and then had to watch what happened. The new mom came back and rejected her brand new baby. It was very sad to watch it hapoen especially knowing I was responsible.
I got to raise that little darling, named her Taffy and was made responsible for feeding her multiple times a day. A lesson learned, never to be forgotten.

This affair is tragic and sad. Maybe more education before entering park is required.

Ms. 7wo7rees

[leftyladyfrommo]

21. Something was wrong to begin with.

It's not normal for a calf to be all alone like that. They stay right with their mothers. It probably had been abandoned and would have died.

Sad but that happens in nature.

[zeemike]

29. It would probably been taken by preditors.

Sad for the calf but predators have young to feed too.
Nature is not kind but it is efficient.

[Xithras]

37. The calf was almost certainly abandoned before the tourist intervened.

I've been around enough bison to know that a bison mother isn't just going to sit idly by while a random tourist shoves her calf into a minivan. Bison generally don't fear humans, and they've killed people for far less. Bison calves don't just wander around alone.

The tourist was probably correct when he/she said that it was cold and starving. It's very likely that they just stumbled across a rejected calf that was already on its way out of the world.

[LisaL]

54. That's what it sounds like.

They tried to save it. Humans interfere in all kinds of cases where baby animals are abandoned. I guess National Park policy is not to save abandoned baby animals.

[Eleanors38]

27. Don't care what the Park Service sez. I got Bambi on my side.

[Hoppy]

30. About 15 years ago, there was a moran in the Delaware River national park. He encountered a rattle

snake and wanted to take a photo. Problem was, the snake was in the wrong position from the Sun. Our hero reached down to "adjust" the snake when it bit him.

Result: No photo.
$2,000 fine for bothering an endangered species.
Hospital bill, probably a few thousand, unless insured.
Pain and suffering. He was in hospital for a few days.

[Octafish]

41. That is a very sad story.

Symbolic in every way possible, too.

[Sunlei]

42. park rangers rather euth. then buy a bag of milk replacement and teach a calf to bucket feed.

kill it has always been 'their way'.

[Nevernose]

43. It should have been left to die on its own.

Then the carcass becomes food for wolves, coyotes, foxes, birds, and a zillion other animals. Circle of life and all of that.

[Jeb Bartlet]

45. Stupid

fucking, ignorant, boneheaded, tourists. Charge them with destruction of federal property and put them in prison.

[Person 2713]

49. Charges pending

http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/charges-pending-against-tourists-after-yellowstone-officials-euthanize-bison-calf/article_9f933b21-98c8-5542-84bc-3ceb8c5fe07c.html

[renate]

46. I'm sure they meant well and feel terrible now

Since we know, in hindsight, how this turned out, it's easy to think the tourists were just stupid. I'm more inclined to think that they were kind, well-meaning people who simply didn't know that handling baby animals is problematic. It can't have been trivial to get a baby bison into a vehicle; the easy way out would have been to simply drive away.

I mean, if I saw a dog cold and starving, I'd want to take care of it. I assume that these people were motivated by the same feelings.

[Person 2713]

48. Better for all if people were motivated less by their own feelings & more by wanting to follow rules

set in place by those in care of the places where they are just unknowledgeable visitors
https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/rules.htm

[Person 2713]

47. #1 rule in the national park is to leave stuff alone wtf is with someone picking up a calf in a mini

van?
https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/rules.htm
Don't pet bears or elk either!

[Oneironaut]

50. I think the calf was probably already abandoned and dying.

The guests thought it was freezing, but it was probably starving to death. Otherwise, it would have been very hard to get it into their car.

My guess is, the calf was already abandoned before this whole thing started. Doesn't seem like the mother was nearby.

[LisaL]

52. Sounds like that to me as well.

[Sunlei]

61. yes, seperated from 'mom' and wandering around tourists & cars. Here's a pic. in the car.

I still think out of 1,000 'park rangers', they should have milk replacer on hand, its easy to feed a calf & turn it out late spring with the other weanlings. Yellowstone buffalo are a semi tame herd anyway. used to tourists and cars all over the place.

[liberal N proud]

51. Man fucks up nature again!

[bunchofpenguins]

57. >_<

The TOURISTS should be the one euthanised not the bison. It wasn't his fault.

[Nye Bevan]

58. Utter morons who think Disney movies with anthropomorphic talking animals are real.

I hope they're proud of themselves.

[maxsolomon]

64. Nature, red in tooth and claw

1. Abandoned Bison calves are going to die. Don't get in the way.
2. Inoculate the entire herd against Brucellosis and buy out (or buy off) the W. Yellowstone and Gardner ranchers who want them shot for leaving the park. Leaving the park is what you do if you're a Bison and want to survive their winters. Get down off that 7000' Plateau.