A baby bison has been put to death after a visitor to a national park picked it up - leading its herd to reject it.
A bison calf in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming was handled by a man, resulting in its rejection by the herd.
As a result, to prevent the calf from posing a danger to visitors, park officials decided to euthanise the animal.
The decision to kill the newborn bison was swiftly defended by park officials.
In a statement shared on Twitter on Tuesday, the park clarified that their choice was not due to laziness, indifference, or a lack of understanding of bison biology.
Rather, it was based on the principle of preserving natural processes within national parks.
The park officials explained that their options for handling the situation were limited.
The statement highlighted the requirement for bison to undergo quarantine before being relocated to conservation herds outside the park.
A bison calf abandoned and unable to care for itself is not a good candidate for quarantine, the statement said.
The calf became separated from its mother when the herd crossed the Lamar River in northeastern Yellowstone on Saturday.
The unidentified man pushed the struggling calf up from the river and onto a roadway, park officials said in a news release.
Human interference with young wildlife can cause animals to shun their offspring.
Park rangers tried repeatedly to reunite the calf with the herd but were unsuccessful. At one point, visitors saw the calf walking up to and following cars and people.
This created a hazard, so park staff killed the animal, according to the news release.
It’s the latest example of Yellowstone visitors getting in trouble or hurt after approaching bison.
Park officials euthanized a newborn bison after a similar incident in 2016, when a Canadian man and his son put the calf in their SUV, thinking they could rescue it.
The man pleaded guilty and was fined $235 and ordered to pay $500 to the Yellowstone Park Foundation Wildlife Protection Fund.
Bison have gored several people in Yellowstone in recent years, often after they got too close to the animals.
Many of Yellowstone’s larger animals — including bison, which can run up to 35mph and weigh up to 2,000 pounds - are deceptively dangerous, even when they are just grazing or resting.
Park rules require visitors to keep at least 25 yards away from wildlife including bison, elk and deer, and at least 100 yards (91 meters) away from bears and wolves.
Park officials are investigating the bison calf incident.
The suspect was a white male in his 40s or 50s who was wearing a blue shirt and black pants, the statement said.
The calf’s body was left on the landscape, similar to the 25% or so of Yellowstone’s newborn bison that don’t survive, park officials said in the Twitter statement.
“Those deaths will benefit other animals by feeding everything from bears and wolves to birds and insects.
Allowing this cycle of life to play out aligns most closely with the stewardship responsibility entrusted to us by the American people,” the statement said.
