"Rescued" Bison calf euthanized today

[L&Lfan]

So there aren't any Bison rescue groups that could have taken it? I get there are reasons they cannot care for it, but it seems as if they were just like oh well lets euthanize it.

The people were idiots for sure, but from another country so maybe they did think they were helping, but like someone upthread said it doesn't excuse their actions. Hopefully they were charged a hefty fine.

What country were they from?

 

[Lehuaann]

My uncle got between a bison cow & calf with his new car in Lone Elk Park (St Louis). The cow rammed his car several times in response - one of 3 bizarre insurance claims he had in just 6 months LOL

Wow, glad he was inside the car, but still, that's scary...they're scary! The ones we saw were behind a fence and they looked like they wanted to plow us over, lol.

 

[bcla]

What country were they from?

There's been no reporting. All that's assumed is that they weren't American. It could mean an immigrant.

 

[PollyannaMom]

The tourists did a really stupid thing, but I still think it's sad the park couldn't come up with some way not to kill that poor baby.

Side note - it's been mentioned that guests are handed a pamphlet before touring the park. I expect (from watching countless school kids over the years not read directions) that many people simply don't read said pamphlet. Handing it out transfers the blame for any stupid actions from the park to the tourists, but it doesn't really stop those stupid things from happening. Should we be doing something else?

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

 

[msjprincess]

The tourists did a really stupid thing, but I still think it's sad the park couldn't come up with some way not to kill that poor baby.

Side note - it's been mentioned that guests are handed a pamphlet before touring the park. I expect (from watching countless school kids over the years not read directions) that many people simply don't read said pamphlet. Handing it out transfers the blame for any stupid actions from the park to the tourists, but it doesn't really stop those stupid things from happening. Should we be doing something else?

There are also signs on the roadways telling people not to approach the wildlife.

 

[bcla]

The tourists did a really stupid thing, but I still think it's sad the park couldn't come up with some way not to kill that poor baby.

Side note - it's been mentioned that guests are handed a pamphlet before touring the park. I expect (from watching countless school kids over the years not read directions) that many people simply don't read said pamphlet. Handing it out transfers the blame for any stupid actions from the park to the tourists, but it doesn't really stop those stupid things from happening. Should we be doing something else?

They would have preferred it die on its own or perhaps get picked off by an opportunistic predator. Under no circumstances were they going to take it in. Individuals also don't mean that much compared to healthy ecosystems.

However, it was clearly approaching people. I don't know if it was ready for solid food, but after a while I wouldn't be surprised if someone tried to feed it.

The really ridiculous thing was a claim that it was too cold.

 

[DopeyDame]

There's been no reporting. All that's assumed is that they weren't American. It could mean an immigrant.

As the mom of two immigrants, I can assure you that one can be both an immigrant and an American.

 

[bcla]

Wow, glad he was inside the car, but still, that's scary...they're scary! The ones we saw were behind a fence and they looked like they wanted to plow us over, lol.

 

[bcla]

As the mom of two immigrants, I can assure you that one can be both an immigrant and an American.

I stated that poorly. I was getting that they could have been American, but dad might have been an immigrant, thus with an assumed foreign accent. The observer assumed they were foreign visitors.

Still, I've known and worked with many immigrants. Some think of themselves with their country of origin, regardless of whether they were naturalized US citizens.

 

[cornflkgrl]

In this case, a little public shaming IS good. It will keep (maybe) some equally moronic person from replicating this stunt in the future. And, maybe think about how close they want to get to a creature as big as bison.

I agree. When it comes to Yellowstone, there is no shortage of moronic behavior. Check out the book "Death in Yellowstone" for further details. One of my favorite books. But for milder cases, drive through the park and just pull over to grab something from the back seat and watch 10-15 cars pull over behind you because they think you spotted an animal. Fun stuff like that. I don't know what it is ...it's kind of like Disney World. People act weird on vacation. Out of their usual element. Commonsense goes out the window.

 

[cornflkgrl]

The tourists did a really stupid thing, but I still think it's sad the park couldn't come up with some way not to kill that poor baby.

Side note - it's been mentioned that guests are handed a pamphlet before touring the park. I expect (from watching countless school kids over the years not read directions) that many people simply don't read said pamphlet. Handing it out transfers the blame for any stupid actions from the park to the tourists, but it doesn't really stop those stupid things from happening. Should we be doing something else?

The pamphlet doesn't require reading. It is bright yellow and literally has a picture of a man being thrown through the air by a bison. It is the most idiotic piece of paper ever. I had one hanging on my fridge for the longest time because it's hilarious. It says something like (I'm paraphrasing it's been awhile): WARNING: Buffalo weigh up to 3000 pounds and can sprint at speeds up to 35 mph. DO NOT APPROACH. Again, bright yellow sheet of paper, big words, guy in air thrown by buffalo. I don't know how much clearer they can be. Darwin awards.

 

[DopeyDame]

I stated that poorly. I was getting that they could have been American, but dad might have been an immigrant, thus with an assumed foreign accent. The observer assumed they were foreign visitors.

Still, I've known and worked with many immigrants. Some think of themselves with their country of origin, regardless of whether they were naturalized US citizens.

Fair enough. I'm a little jumpy, given the current social climate, about statements that make immigrants seem not "American enough"

 

[cornflkgrl]

here

 

[msjprincess]

The pamphlet doesn't require reading. It is bright yellow and literally has a picture of a man being thrown through the air by a bison. It is the most idiotic piece of paper ever. I had one hanging on my fridge for the longest time because it's hilarious. It says something like (I'm paraphrasing it's been awhile): WARNING: Buffalo weigh up to 3000 pounds and can sprint at speeds up to 35 mph. DO NOT APPROACH. Again, bright yellow sheet of paper, big words, guy in air thrown by buffalo. I don't know how much clearer they can be. Darwin awards.

 

[PollyannaMom]

The pamphlet doesn't require reading. It is bright yellow and literally has a picture of a man being thrown through the air by a bison. It is the most idiotic piece of paper ever. I had one hanging on my fridge for the longest time because it's hilarious. It says something like (I'm paraphrasing it's been awhile): WARNING: Buffalo weigh up to 3000 pounds and can sprint at speeds up to 35 mph. DO NOT APPROACH. Again, bright yellow sheet of paper, big words, guy in air thrown by buffalo. I don't know how much clearer they can be. Darwin awards.

Oh, I get it now! I was picturing a tri-folded thing with all sorts of additional information.

 

[cornflkgrl]

Maybe they need to add a picture of a baby bison with a big red X

 

[mnrose]

Bison are HUGE. When we drove through Custer State Park, there was a big herd of them, and there was always some joker standing way.too.close and taking selfies. Talk about stupid. My farmer 'herds' his bison from pasture to pasture, and he's pretty darn careful about it. As he says, bison have only two speeds....grazing speed (slow walk while they graze), and stampede (faster than any human can run). There is no middle ground. And, they go from one to the other very quickly. Plus, they can turn very quickly and at high speed. Interesting to watch. We watched him "herd" them across a rural road to the other pasture, and he put up 'chutes' and managed to convince the lead bull to go through. The rest, literally, stampeded right behind. Took only a couple of seconds. You could feel the road vibrate something fierce as they ran across. (We were well back for safety). It must have been a magnificent sight when they roamed the prairies by the million.

 

[pocomom]

The tourists did a really stupid thing, but I still think it's sad the park couldn't come up with some way not to kill that poor baby.

Side note - it's been mentioned that guests are handed a pamphlet before touring the park. I expect (from watching countless school kids over the years not read directions) that many people simply don't read said pamphlet. Handing it out transfers the blame for any stupid actions from the park to the tourists, but it doesn't really stop those stupid things from happening. Should we be doing something else?

There are signs all over, rangers, gift shop attendants EVERYONE tells you. Campgrounds, lodges it is posted everywhere. It was very clear to my then 4 year old. But we still saw people getting way to close for selfies and whatnot. It is actually amazing more people don't get hurt, but I think the animals are largely used to humans being around.

To clarify my earlier post -taking a baby bison as easy, I was referring to the fact that it is normal for them to be that close to the cars, as everyone was speculating that the baby had already been abandoned by its mother.

 

[tzolkin]

Am I missing something? Didn't they believe the calf was in trouble and try to help it? Not the brightest idea but it doesn't sound like anything done maliciously.

I agree and I do think many comments (both here and on the news stories) are pretty harsh.

However, I am glad that things like this get a good amount of attention so others can learn. It seems that people do way more stupid/dangerous things now. I know people have always done things without thinking through their actions, but it seems like the chance to take a picture or video with your phone is making this more common. (Not saying this was the case with this particular incident, but the parks have mentioned increased problems with people getting too close to the animals for photo ops.)

I have even seen videos recently where animals have been killed because people felt their "need" to take a selfie was more important than than that animal's health and safety.

So there aren't any Bison rescue groups that could have taken it? I get there are reasons they cannot care for it, but it seems as if they were just like oh well lets euthanize it.

The people were idiots for sure, but from another country so maybe they did think they were helping, but like someone upthread said it doesn't excuse their actions. Hopefully they were charged a hefty fine.

$110