People really need to consider the implications of their actions before they just go and do things. Even if, if the baby bison was freezing and would have died, that's all part of the circle of life. We can't run around saving everything, that's not how nature works. Cute things die, and that's okay. They fulfill an important role in the ecosystem, when we interfere we screw with everything else further along the food chain. In this case, a calf was killed because idiot tourists unthinkingly interfered, a calf who would most likely have survived just fine. Now its death was utterly pointless.
Even if, if the baby bison was freezing and would have died, that's all part of the circle of life. We can't run around saving everything, that's not how nature works. Cute things die, and that's okay.
Yes, it bears repeating that death is a totally normal and necessary part of natural systems and the cuteness of a animal has nothing to do with its importance in the grand scheme of things. And these systems are fragile in ways that humans are far more likely to cause harm.
But sometimes nature does need help, especially in an environment where there is frequent human interaction, and an ecosystem that has a fraction of its former range and diversity. Sometimes losing individual animals could harm a small population or a breeding program, for example.
The problem is random visitors are not at all in an informed position to decide that. But it's inherently hard to educate people not to rely on their superficial understanding to jump to conclusions. Sharing stories like this one helps!
If a lesson of "call (or perhaps tweet?) park services to report anything unusual, DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING" was hammered home, the worst that might have happened is a ranger would have wearily repeated for the 20th time that day, "no, that animal is perfectly fine, leave it alone".
Morons. Please tell me these people will face something beyond the aforementioned fine. Mandatory education or something. But then again, you can't fix stupid.
@SpenceMan01 I think sentencing them to community service being spokespeople advocating and educating people about the danger to wildlife imposed by applying human needs and ideas to animals would be a fitting sentence. Have them visit a few schools near places where endangered species live, record a couple of PSA TV spots, could turn a negative into a massive positive.
@FroodyFrog that's certainly what the half dozen or so articles I've found indicate has happened. It's not clear whether it had been orphaned before they grabbed it or not but they still got involved in the natural order of things.
@FroodyFrog let me clarify because I don't think we're disagreeing here.
We both agree that it was rejected by the herd. What I said is not clear is whether it had been rejected before being collected by those tourists or only after the fact.
It does seem strange that a couple of tourists were able to make off with a calf if it had an entire herd around it. It was definitely orphaned via rejection, the only question is whether the rejection is a consequence or not. That said, I am firmly in the camp that they shouldn't have messed with it and let the natural order of things progress.
@jbartus@FroodyFrog. Neither story I read was very clear about where and how the two found the calf. I know it's not the same breed but my sister's cow would hide her calf in high grass while she went off grazing. No telling if something similar happened here, or if the calf wandered off or was already rejected. Just a sad situation all around.
The whole reason they took the baby bison was because they thought it was cold. If it was a cub, they probably wouldn't have thought that. (Their logic, or lack thereof, not mine.)
I can't believe there wasn't a refuge that could have taken that baby. What an absolute waste of a little life. Killing with kindness takes on a new meaning.
@mehbee while I can empathize with the sentiment, I suspect it was probably at such an a point in its development that it was vital that it have access/contact with its mother (dependency on nutrients from mother's milk or something) and for that reason it was deemed impractical to do so.
@mehbee yeah it's really quite sad. There is always the potential that the calf would be dead anyhow (if it had been rejected prior to being taken by the tourists which seems more likely to me) but people shouldn't have gotten involved.
@mehbee The reason they couldn't place it was because either, it was too young to be tested, or it takes too long to test for the disease, Brucellosis. An infectious disease of domestic animals often resulting in spontaneous abortion; transmittable to human beings. Bovine brucellosis has been nearly eliminated from livestock in the United States. Bison and elk in the Greater Yellowstone Area remain reservoirs for the disease. http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/12/13-0167_article
@2many2no I was just talking about this story over the weekend. People who go into places like this and ignore the rules are infuriating! In both of these cases, they should also be banned, for life, from all national, state, and other parks. In case their "I'm the exception" impulse kicks in again and they try to ruin something else.
'The visitors were cited for touching park wildlife and fined $110, Yellowstone spokeswoman Charissa Reid said. She declined to name the visitors or issue a copy of the citation amid the investigation.' Now I really, really want to know their names. Anybody? Source: http://abc7chicago.com/news/bison-calf-euthanized-after-tourists-put-it-in-suv-/1341264/
@OldCatLady Outraged internet mobs have a tendency to turn really nasty these days.
It's tragic and shocking, but I think we can assume common human decency based on the facts of this case; these people have definitely learned their lesson (they're probably wracked with guilt even) and don't deserve to have some arbitrary punishment meted out by strangers.
Let's try to make sure their story can be an example to others. We don't need their names for that.
@trisk I'm not sure what the 'story' is here. They deliberately ignored the laws, which were posted in their own language. They knew they were in a national park, which is a wildlife preserve. They have not surfaced in the media proclaiming how sorry and wrong they were. They got caught breaking the law, and the animal they removed from its habitat could not be reunited with its herd, but had to be destroyed. They were fined the legal maximum, and if it hadn't been for a social media post by someone who documented them breaking the law, it would have been just another day. There is no 'example' or 'lesson' here- they broke the law deliberately. They are undoubtedly very sorry that they got caught, and I am certain they will try not to get caught again.
The Canadians who wanted to warm up the bison calf have surfaced, still insisting it was cold. Shamash Kassam, of Quebec, is scheduled to appear June 2 at the Yellowstone Justice Center. At Yellowstone, different idiots continue to break laws and get cited. Monday it was a bunch who decided the boardwalk over Grand Prismatic Springs wasn't for them, so they tromped over the bacterial mats freely. Other tourists turned them in; the park spokesperson said 'Information and tips provided by the public and media have been invaluable. We want to thank everyone for their passion and for helping protect geothermal resources in the park.'
Oh.. that poor baby... stupid people!!!
I had to post this, as it just angers me so.
"adorable bison" sounds like an order number
@shawn adorable-bison-sandwich?
@SpenceMan01 too soon...
@mikibell Sorry. My kid is sitting on me, eating string cheese. I'm hungry. Must have been my subconscious poking through.
@SpenceMan01
@SpenceMan01 my kids are getting to big to sit on me...
enjoy the string cheese age...it goes by fast!
@SpenceMan01
People really need to consider the implications of their actions before they just go and do things. Even if, if the baby bison was freezing and would have died, that's all part of the circle of life. We can't run around saving everything, that's not how nature works. Cute things die, and that's okay. They fulfill an important role in the ecosystem, when we interfere we screw with everything else further along the food chain. In this case, a calf was killed because idiot tourists unthinkingly interfered, a calf who would most likely have survived just fine. Now its death was utterly pointless.
Yes, it bears repeating that death is a totally normal and necessary part of natural systems and the cuteness of a animal has nothing to do with its importance in the grand scheme of things. And these systems are fragile in ways that humans are far more likely to cause harm.
But sometimes nature does need help, especially in an environment where there is frequent human interaction, and an ecosystem that has a fraction of its former range and diversity. Sometimes losing individual animals could harm a small population or a breeding program, for example.
The problem is random visitors are not at all in an informed position to decide that. But it's inherently hard to educate people not to rely on their superficial understanding to jump to conclusions. Sharing stories like this one helps!
If a lesson of "call (or perhaps tweet?) park services to report anything unusual, DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING" was hammered home, the worst that might have happened is a ranger would have wearily repeated for the 20th time that day, "no, that animal is perfectly fine, leave it alone".
People are idiots. But then again, I already knew that.
Fucking stupid people
... creates more stupid people!
Morons. Please tell me these people will face something beyond the aforementioned fine. Mandatory education or something. But then again, you can't fix stupid.
@SpenceMan01 I think sentencing them to community service being spokespeople advocating and educating people about the danger to wildlife imposed by applying human needs and ideas to animals would be a fitting sentence. Have them visit a few schools near places where endangered species live, record a couple of PSA TV spots, could turn a negative into a massive positive.
@SpenceMan01 All I can find is that they were from another (unspecified) country. And that the calf may have been orphaned. Still researching.
@OldCatLady @SpenceMan01
I read somewhere that it's mother (and the herd) rejected it.
@FroodyFrog that's certainly what the half dozen or so articles I've found indicate has happened. It's not clear whether it had been orphaned before they grabbed it or not but they still got involved in the natural order of things.
@jbartus
What context are you using to define if it was orphaned or not?
@FroodyFrog I would consider a calf too young to survive on its own that has been rejected by the herd to be orphaned in every practical sense.
@jbartus @ froodyFrog It was rejected after the rangers tried to reunite it with its mama.(sorry if y'all already figured that out)
@mehbee
That's the view which I was taking, and that it's mother was still alive, but @jbartus seemed to have a completely different understanding.
@FroodyFrog let me clarify because I don't think we're disagreeing here.
We both agree that it was rejected by the herd. What I said is not clear is whether it had been rejected before being collected by those tourists or only after the fact.
It does seem strange that a couple of tourists were able to make off with a calf if it had an entire herd around it. It was definitely orphaned via rejection, the only question is whether the rejection is a consequence or not. That said, I am firmly in the camp that they shouldn't have messed with it and let the natural order of things progress.
@jbartus
Thanks for clarifying.
@jbartus @FroodyFrog. Neither story I read was very clear about where and how the two found the calf. I know it's not the same breed but my sister's cow would hide her calf in high grass while she went off grazing. No telling if something similar happened here, or if the calf wandered off or was already rejected. Just a sad situation all around.
If those assholes had just kept their heads down and their eyes on their iphones none of this would have happened
@somf69
Yeah, stick to being obsessed with technology, and leave nature alone!
@somf69 I mean why even go outside? Everything you need is on that screen in front of you...
If they had to pick up a cute baby animal, why didn't they grab a grizzly cub? The problem would never have arisen. Neither would they.
@OldCatLady
The whole reason they took the baby bison was because they thought it was cold.
If it was a cub, they probably wouldn't have thought that.
(Their logic, or lack thereof, not mine.)
@OldCatLady
Quite a selfie opp.
I can't believe there wasn't a refuge that could have taken that baby. What an absolute waste of a little life. Killing with kindness takes on a new meaning.
@mehbee while I can empathize with the sentiment, I suspect it was probably at such an a point in its development that it was vital that it have access/contact with its mother (dependency on nutrients from mother's milk or something) and for that reason it was deemed impractical to do so.
@jbartus And the park rangers were hungry.
(I'm still hungry. Should have had some string cheese by now.)
@jbartus You're probably right. Sometimes it's kinder to do what the rangers did than not, I just hate that something so senseless happened.
@SpenceMan01 Not funny...
@SpenceMan01 For You:
@mehbee yeah it's really quite sad. There is always the potential that the calf would be dead anyhow (if it had been rejected prior to being taken by the tourists which seems more likely to me) but people shouldn't have gotten involved.
@mehbee A little funny.
@mehbee The reason they couldn't place it was because either, it was too young to be tested, or it takes too long to test for the disease, Brucellosis.
An infectious disease of domestic animals often resulting in spontaneous abortion; transmittable to human beings. Bovine brucellosis has been nearly eliminated from livestock in the United States. Bison and elk in the Greater Yellowstone Area remain reservoirs for the disease. http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/12/13-0167_article
@sinderella I guess that makes sense.
They're not alone. Even people who should know better are proud of their stupidity.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-scouts-leaders-who-knocked-over-ancient-rock-get-probation-n56596
@2many2no I was just talking about this story over the weekend. People who go into places like this and ignore the rules are infuriating! In both of these cases, they should also be banned, for life, from all national, state, and other parks. In case their "I'm the exception" impulse kicks in again and they try to ruin something else.
This explains things quite well (see the first comment as well as the text)
https://www.facebook.com/YellowstoneNPS/photos/a.480329805315712.126301.151418891540140/1300471933301491/?type=3
Hope they didn't waste perfectly good bison veal.
did the herd say bye son
@Lotsofgoats
They acted like animals when they abandoned it.
What? no abused bison recovery project the nanny state is slipping
They should make them eat the whole thing in one sitting. That'll teach 'em about taking responsibility for their actions.
@DaveInSoCal I don't know what the bison equivalent of lamb chops is, but I'm in.
'The visitors were cited for touching park wildlife and fined $110, Yellowstone spokeswoman Charissa Reid said. She declined to name the visitors or issue a copy of the citation amid the investigation.' Now I really, really want to know their names. Anybody?
Source: http://abc7chicago.com/news/bison-calf-euthanized-after-tourists-put-it-in-suv-/1341264/
@OldCatLady what would that accomplish?
@OldCatLady Outraged internet mobs have a tendency to turn really nasty these days.
It's tragic and shocking, but I think we can assume common human decency based on the facts of this case; these people have definitely learned their lesson (they're probably wracked with guilt even) and don't deserve to have some arbitrary punishment meted out by strangers.
Let's try to make sure their story can be an example to others. We don't need their names for that.
@trisk I'm not sure what the 'story' is here. They deliberately ignored the laws, which were posted in their own language. They knew they were in a national park, which is a wildlife preserve. They have not surfaced in the media proclaiming how sorry and wrong they were. They got caught breaking the law, and the animal they removed from its habitat could not be reunited with its herd, but had to be destroyed. They were fined the legal maximum, and if it hadn't been for a social media post by someone who documented them breaking the law, it would have been just another day. There is no 'example' or 'lesson' here- they broke the law deliberately. They are undoubtedly very sorry that they got caught, and I am certain they will try not to get caught again.
The Canadians who wanted to warm up the bison calf have surfaced, still insisting it was cold. Shamash Kassam, of Quebec, is scheduled to appear June 2 at the Yellowstone Justice Center. At Yellowstone, different idiots continue to break laws and get cited. Monday it was a bunch who decided the boardwalk over Grand Prismatic Springs wasn't for them, so they tromped over the bacterial mats freely. Other tourists turned them in; the park spokesperson said 'Information and tips provided by the public and media have been invaluable. We want to thank everyone for their passion and for helping protect geothermal resources in the park.'
@OldCatLady The guys at Prismatic Springs were Canadians too- what's the deal? They used to be so nice.