Rutting Bison Charges Too-Close-Tourists In Yellowstone National Park

A close call in Yellowstone National Park.

In case you didn’t know, we’re smack dab in the middle of what’s known as the “bison rut” right now. Also called bison mating season, the active months for male and female bison to do their thing spans from July all the way through September. It’s during this time that bison, especially males, are generally more aggressive than they normally would be.

That’s because these behemoths are competing for mating rights and territories over the span of a couple of months. The bulls are doing all they can to display their dominance and show off in front of the cows, so it’s not a smart decision to try to mess with really any bison during the rut season.

Because they don’t mind to make an example out of a human who just so happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Thus bringing us to this video out of Yellowstone National Park. Unfortunately, tourists that are often referred to as “tourons” (tourist morons) have a knack for putting themselves in harm’s way. These people in Hayden Valley seemingly ignored the National Park Service warning signs of staying 25 yards away from bison, and got out of their vehicles to get a better look at the 2,000 pound beast.

And they got a better look alright. Some that were standing on the side of the road – way closer than they should have been – got charged by the bison. If you’ve ever wanted to see a bison up close, the angry ones are generally happy to run right up to you! How thoughtful is that?

Fortunately for these tourists, this was more of a bluff charge, and the bison pulled up before it could do any damage. But it still managed scared the everliving daylights out of those who were on the chasing end of the incident, and even prompted someone in the background of the video to ask:

“Want to go back to the car?”

Oh yeah, you want to go back to the car. They really should have never been out of their cars in the first place. Witnessing bison during the rut season can be a cool experience, but it would benefit tourists to extend that 25 yard buffer zone to 50, just to be safe around the increasingly agitated and active beasts.

I’m sure these Yellowstone visitors won’t ever let a bison get this close to them ever again: