We've run many posts about the various "tourons" who illegally handle, pose near, or simply get too close to the park's wildlife — you know, people who mistake wild creatures for bunnies at a petting zoo. But for some reason, tourists at Yellowstone National Park can't seem to get the park's oft repeated memo: Do not get close to or handle the wildlife! (Yellowstone officials continually plead for visitors to stay at least 25 feet away from park animals.)
And last week, some tourists took it a step further, actually putting a newborn elk into their car and driving away with it, to a police station on the other side of the park.
From CBS:
Officials said that over Memorial Day Weekend, visitors put a newborn elk in their car while driving in the park and brought the animal to the West Yellowstone, Montana, Police Department. Park officials said the calf "later ran off into the forest and its condition is unknown."
Officials did not say why the tourists drove the animal to the police station but said they are investigating.
"Approaching wild animals can drastically affect their well-being and, in some cases, their survival," the park said. "When an animal is near a campsite, trail, boardwalk, parking lot, on a road, or in a developed area, leave it alone and give it space."
The elk ride occurred right around the same time a man from Hawaii was charged with a misdemeanor and ordered to pay more than $1,000 in fines for handling a baby bison at Yellowstone. The man's intentions seemed to be in the right place, telling officials he was trying to save the calf from drowning, but the young bison was then rejected from its herd and thus euthanized by park staff. So much for lending a helping hand.
