Tourists Pitch Tent Within Feet of Bison @ Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park’s vast 2.2 million acres includes 11 campgrounds with over 2,000 established campsites for visitors to pitch tents and spend the night under the glorious skies of our nation’s oldest national park. All of Yellowstone’s campsites must be reserved in advance, with the exception of Mammoth Campground which offers first-come, first-serve sites and visitors can get pretty anxious to establish their campsites on arrival after securing one of these highly desirable patches of ground.

Although Yellowstone campsites are somewhat developed, they are still habitat for the park’s wildlife and all rules governing proper wildlife viewing still apply while in designated campsites. This includes maintaining at least 25 yards from the approximately 5,000 bison that freely roam the park. The following video was taken at a Yellowstone National Park campsite and shows a pair of tourists who put their safety at risk while driving the stakes to their tent’s rainfly as a bison stood just feet away.

It is unfortunately a dangerous and prevalent misconception that Yellowstone’s bison are harmless animals akin to domestic cows as they are in fact responsible for injuring more people at Yellowstone than any other species. Approaching bison or allowing one to approach you is against park regulations, no matter if you’re deep in the backcountry or roasting marsh mellows at your front country campsite. Learn more about bison safety at Yellowstone National Park below.

Yellowstone National Park Bison Safety Guidelines:

Bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal. Bison are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans. Always stay at least 25 yards (23 m) away from bison.

• Give bison space when they are near a campsite, trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area. If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal in close proximity. 
• Approaching bison threatens them, and they may respond by bluff charging, head bobbing, pawing, bellowing, or snorting. These are warning signs that you are too close and that a charge is imminent.
• Do not stand your ground. Immediately walk or run away from the animal. Spray bear spray as you are moving away if the animal follows you.

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