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Yellowstone issues warning after visitors put baby bison in car
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abstract alien
Member
They seemed to have good intentions, but were just ignorant about how to handle that situation(do nothing). Not saying a punishment shouldn't be dealt, and I usually side with the animal im nearly every case, but I don't know about all of this social media backlash bullshit.
tearsintherain
Member
I wonder why so many animals reject their children if they get a "foreign" smell on them, seems like a weird defense mechanism. I can sorta understand birds, since there are some birds that lay their eggs in other birds nests, but why would large mammals do it?
The touching bird babies thing is a myth.
Am I reading this right? The baby bison was left behind by its herd so it was going to die anyways. It didn't really matter what the guy did.
univariate
Banned
Wait, I thought killing Buffalo was as American as it gets, these tourists were just trying to fit in.
Fuck humans
Even worse is that in trying to save the Bison they started breeding pure Bison/buffalo with domestic cattle so very few bison herds are actually genetically pure anymore.
Like I said, the way humans are procreating, developing the world. There is no space or future for any large non-human animal.
Yeah, we never learn. That's why all the bison are extinct right?
Subpar Scrub
Banned
"Purposefully stupid" made me absolutely lose my shit. There's something about the idea that someone would be intentionally unintelligent that got me.
If not killing the baby animal was a viable option, I'm sure they would have kept it alive.
An ex-girlfriend of mine worked at a wildlife sanctuary for a few years and educated me quite a bit on this stuff. Reintegrating baby animals back into the wild once they've been separated from their mothers can be very difficult. Especially if they've had contact with humans and have imprinted on them. Often times a major concern is that after a baby animal has had positive contact with humans (like this bison calf did with the guy who warmed it up in his car), there is a a very real risk that it will reject its herd and actively seek out human contact again and go to a place where humans populate (like busy roads). In which case it's viewed as a liability and/or safety risk to people and itself. This is why parks are so adamant about folks not feeding wild animals - they come to rely on humans for food and forget how to fend for themselves.
It's also worth pointing out that places like zoos and sanctuaries aren't simply animal hotels that can house and feed something like a bison calf at a moment's notice. They often have very limited facilities and funding (sanctuaries in particular) and half of their "employees" are actually unpaid volunteers. So it's entirely possible that there simply wasn't a place that could take in the bison calf in perpetuity.
Even then, lets say they did find a zoo to take it in, there's a very real risk that the adult bison could reject the calf and pay it no attention. A nurturing environment is key to the healthy growth of animals in captivity just as it is in the wild. It's something zoos actively monitor to ensure newborns are taken care of. So if were to be rejected by the other bison, it would be devastating to a newborn.
Welp, people can be stupid when it comes to wildlife. I remember a friend's boyfriend going up to some raccoons to pet them because he thought they were nice, despite my repeated warnings that they are wild animals that can fuck some shit up. The mother raccoon took a chunk out of his wrist. What was supposed to be a fun day hiking and picnicking turned into hours in an emergency room while he got stitches and tetanus/rabies/whatever shots.
jeff_rigby
Banned
That's the other side of the Coin. A certain percentage of calves are abandoned by the cows. They stand shivering in fear and hunger until a bear or Wolves eat them. Park rangers have to think big picture. The calf was killed because it attached to people or cars as the mother,....which again leads one to believe it was abandoned very soon after birth, otherwise the rangers would have let it be eaten by wolves or attached to another cow with calf. I'm sure they walk off hoping the latter happens.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
Then the people who did this should have been fined however much it would have cost to relocate and quarantine it.
King Gilga
Member
Wait, I thought killing Buffalo was as American as it gets, these tourists were just trying to fit in.
That's incredibly impressive and pretty fucked up, especially the reasoning (to fuck up the natives because they relied on bison).
ZackieChan
Member
Classic Nipper
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
I feel like their intentions were good but if your going to a place of nature you should know this already.
Polioliolio
Member
Wait, I thought killing Buffalo was as American as it gets, these tourists were just trying to fit in.
This is some dark souls level shit.
Can't believe for a second that they couldn't have sent the animal to a sanctuary or even adopted.
What the fuck is wrong with everyone.
entremet
Member
These are wild animals. Those sanctuaries are for farm animals mostly.
Trust the experts.
I mean his intentions were good but he went a little over board. He's still better than poachers. By the sounds of it he was already abandoned by his herd so he probably would've died anyway.
But damn people are losing their minds over the death of one bison while they are eating steak dinner every night. Unless you're a vegan then chill out. People make mistakes.
But damn people are losing their minds over the death of one bison while they are eating steak dinner every night. Unless you're a vegan then chill out. People make mistakes.
univariate
Banned
User 479360
Banned
Poor thing. People can be so very ignorant.
Andrew Korenchkin
Member
Wait, I thought killing Buffalo was as American as it gets, these tourists were just trying to fit in.
Oh my.....
We are a barbaric species. Wow.
tattooed_dwarf
Member
Here in Finland a baby deer was rejected by it's mother because some morons found it and touched it and took damn SELFIES with it. Stupidity of some people just always amazes and depresses me.
Rest
All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
People don't know that Bison aren't domesticated.
They're not cows, you can't pet them.
Show some holocaust photos, nobody bats an eye anymore. A mound of bison skulls? "Humanity is the worst"
Andrew Korenchkin
Member
I most certainly do. I can't even look at Holocaust photos without feeling crappy and miserable.
Polioliolio
Member
Wasn't the problem that the baby would no longer be suitable for the wild?
You could probably raise it in a sanctuary well enough. Since it's been decided that it doesn't belong in the wild, it could at least be given to a responsible farmer who's looking to care for an animal.
I know I'm not an expert, but I find it extremely hard to believe that there's no place left for it.
I don't care for zoos, but it may even be better to put it there, if like you said, there are no sanctuaries fitting for it.
entremet
Member
It's a wild infant Bison. Without it's mothers protection it's either dead or socially outcast. Bison are herd animals.
We tend to anthropomorphize wild animals too much. Who says it will take to human care? It may be aggressive and possibly harmful to human care, putting humans in danger.
After all that it may be more trouble than it's worth to keep alive.
It's sad, but that's why Yellowstone has these restriction. Also this isn't a common thing. This was a very rare occurrence. We have no epidemic of baby bison being taken into SUVs, so they're no need or demand of a bison sanctuary. Nor do we probably have the personnel for that.
I'm sure the park administration and on call animal experts didn't make this decision lightly.
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