You’re in Yellowstone National Park, walking toward the parking lot, when you encounter a large bison feeding only feet from the boardwalk.
Do you proceed and hope the bison ignores you? Do you wait for the bison to leave before continuing? Or do you climb through the boardwalk fence, opposite the bison, and risk descending a steep hill to the lot?
The accompanying footage, captured last week at the Petrified Tree landmark, shows a woman weighing options after climbing through the boardwalk fence.
She’s reluctant to descend the hill and ultimately chooses to climb back onto the wooden pathway – feet from the bison – with the hope that the massive animal would ignore her.
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Mission accomplished.
But it’s worth noting that a man was charged and gored last June while walking with his family on a boardwalk. (That boardwalk, unlike the Petrified Tree boardwalk, was not protected by fence rails.)
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A few weeks earlier, a 25-year-old woman was gored and tossed 10 feet into the air after she approached within 10 feet of a bison near a boardwalk.
Yellowstone tourists are supposed to stay at least 25 yards from bison.
If they’re on a boardwalk, they’re advised to maintain that distance until it’s safe to pass. If the boardwalk is at a thermal feature such as Old Faithful, they should not leave the boardwalk.
But as anyone who has spent lots of time in the park knows, guidelines pertaining to bison and boardwalks are often ignored.
