Two people are wanted in harassing a bison calf in Grand Teton National Park
Two people recently harassed a bison calf in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park by approaching and touching it, officials said, sparking an investigation into the latest case of park visitors crossing wildlife boundaries.
National Park Service rangers have asked for help identifying the two individuals who touched the buffalo calf on June 4 on the south side of Elk Ranch Flats.
A picture released by the Park Service appears to show two men – one in shorts and sunglasses, the other with long sleeves – standing close to the buffalo calf, standing by the side of a road.
“The safety of visitors and wildlife depends on everyone playing a vital role as wildlife stewards by giving them the space they need to thrive,” the Park Service said in a statement. . “Their lives depend on it.”
Park regulations require visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from all wildlife, including bison, elk, and deer, and at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves.
The episode was the latest to anger park officials who have been warning visitors for years to stay away from animals and not to touch them.
That caution is especially relevant for bison calves, which can weigh 30 to 70 pounds at birth, because human interference with the animals can cause bison herds to reject the offspring.
The Park Service said that in the June 4 case, the calf had been successfully reunited with its herd. However, often human interactions can lead to the animal having to be euthanized.
A bison calf had to be euthanized in Yellowstone National Park last month after a man apparently tried to help it, leading the herd to reject it, park officials said. Park rangers had “repeatedly tried to reunite the calf with the herd,” the park service said, but those efforts failed.
In 2018, a video of a man harassing a bison in Yellowstone National Park by goading and lashing out at it garnered a lot of attention, prompting rangers to arrest him.
In 2016, a bison calf was euthanized after being placed in the back of an SUV and rejected by its herd. And in 2015, a woman was injured when she tried to take a selfie near a bison.
It was not immediately clear what charges the wanted men could face.
Chad Kremer, the president of the National Bison Association and manager of a bison herd in South Dakota, said most cases of people coming close to calves are rooted in well-meaning intentions: They want to help a stray calf make its way to the herd or get out of difficult terrain.
But such efforts pose risks to the animal and people, Mr Kremer said.
“Even if they seem lost or abandoned, they usually aren’t,” he said. “If you start intervening, the problem will only get worse.”
Female bison sometimes put young calves in an area, leave them to graze before returning for their offspring, Mr. Kremer said. But if someone picks up or moves the calf, that process is disrupted and the female bison may be deterred from returning because of the human scent on the animal.
Visitors may also be at risk, as bison are the largest mammal in North America.
Male bison, also known as bulls, weigh up to 2,000 pounds and stand six feet tall. Females, or cows, weigh up to 1,000 pounds and reach four to five feet in height.
It’s hard to keep track of how often people get involved with bison calves, Mr. Kremer said, but it’s possible there’s more awareness of such episodes because of news coverage.
An increase in visits to the National Park – 312 million recreational visits were recorded in 2022 compared to 297 million recreational visits in 2021 – could also be a factor.