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Reckless Yellowstone tourists cause bison stampede

After leaving Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, Lisa Stewart stopped when she saw a bunch of people by the river, thinking it might be a wolf sighting.

Instead, it was several tourists acting recklessly as they approached a herd of bison and caused a stampede.

Stewart told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors that for up to 10 minutes she witnessed bison grunting and stomping the ground and slowly moving down the hill.

“The people saw them and started walking closer and closer toward the bison,” Stewart explained. “They [the bison] kept getting more agitated by the minute. They walked farther down. Out of my sight, but I could still hear them grunting and blowing.

“While I had my iPhone up taking a picture, I heard the rumble of the stampede and immediately moved my camera from still photos to video and captured the video you see.

“You only see about four-to-six people on the video, but there were more in the same spot the bison come running from,” Stewart said. “The fishermen grabbed their stuff and ran, and then you see the bison running, and I felt relief the people didn’t get trampled.

“Then all the sudden you see the bison appear between the fishermen and tourists, then they turn and run toward the tourists. I was scared for a second, but the second wave of stampeding bison turned again and ran across the river to join the herd on the other side.”

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Bystanders yelled at the tourists to get away from the bison and made it known how stupid they were for even being down there, much less walking toward them, Stewart told For The Win Outdoors.

Yellowstone warns visitors that animals in the park are wild and unpredictable, no matter how calm they appear to be. The park says the safest view of wildlife is from the inside of a car. It recommends remaining 100 yards away from bears and wolves, and at least 25 yards away from all other animals, such as bison and elk. Clearly that wasn’t the case here.

“It was amazing that they didn’t heed the warning of grunting, snorting and stomping feet!” Stewart said. “I stopped filming cause I really thought that someone out of view had to have been hurt and was going to help if needed.

“I was actually shaking a tad, for I really thought the bison were going to run through those people.”

Afterward, the tourists made their way back to their vehicles, but they heard an earful from bystanders.

“I could feel the earth rumbling under my feet when it was happening,” Stewart told For The Win Outdoors. “It was one of those moments your stomach turns over at the split moment you think disaster is about to happen.

“Thank goodness nobody was hurt, and I hope they all learned a lesson. It reaffirmed the awesome power of such beautiful creatures in my eyes.”

Photo courtesy of ViralHog.

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