Woman Petting Bison in Yellowstone Accused of Park Crime

A video of a woman attempting to pet a disgruntled bison in Yellowstone National Park is making the rounds on the internet this week and Park spokeswoman Amy Bartlett says the act appears to be illegal.

"The person is extremely lucky," said Bartlett. "There is a video that has gone viral this weekend that shows somebody approaching a bison and possibly touching that bison. They need to remain 100 yards required minimum distance from bears and wolves and 25 yards from any other large animals like elk and bison. Unfortunately, this person did not listen to that."

A lot of people think of calling 911 for fires and other emergencies, but Bartlett says the park recommends calling 911 even for incidents like the one just described.

"It seems like no one called 911 which is what we would recommend," Bartlett said. "If you see someone breaking a law in the park, any kind of law, call 911 and let our law enforcement know. They can get a ticket. They can get a mandatory appearance to face a federal judge. We actually have a magistrate here in Mammoth Hot Springs so it just depends on the severity of what somebody has done."

No one was injured in this case and the bison was able to shrug off the visitor’s hand without much effort, but this story could have easily ended in a trampling injury or even death.