Man pleads guilty to moving buffalo calf, saying it was an ‘act of compassion’

Clifford Walters said he was only trying to save a struggling newborn bison when he made a sudden decision to push him up from a riverbank in Yellowstone National Park.

But Mr. Walters’ encounter with the animal on May 20 landed him in federal court, where he pleaded guilty Wednesday Unpleasant one count from feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or deliberately disturbing wildlife.

Mr. Walters was ordered to pay a $500 fine, $500 community service to the Yellowstone Forever Wildlife Protection Fund, a $30 special assessment and a $10 processing fee, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming said in a statement. a statement.

Mr Walters, 78, represented himself in court and said in an interview on Friday that he believed the outcome was fair.

“The fine could have been much higher,” he said, adding, “I would have paid that much money to save the calf’s life.”

Mr. Walters of Hawaii said he and his wife were traveling through Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming when they stopped to see a herd of bison crossing the Lamar River, in the northeast corner of the park.

Mr Walters said his wife was recording video of the herd when he saw a newborn calf with its umbilical cord still attached struggling on the bank, unable to get its hind legs on dry land.

“It was in the water begging for help to get out,” he said. “It was swept downstream.”

Mr. Walters said he responded immediately.

“I didn’t discuss it with my wife when I walked down the levee,” he said. “I couldn’t stand to see the calf die.”

He said he pushed the calf up the embankment in an area where cars were parked.

“I thought, ‘If I can get him out of the water, maybe someone will come back and save him,'” Mr Walters said. “The calf was drowning, and it definitely wouldn’t stand a chance if I hadn’t.”

But Mr. Walters’ plan didn’t work. According to the statement from the US prosecutor’s office, visitors saw the calf approach and follow cars and people. Park rangers repeatedly tried to reunite the animal with the herd, but their efforts were unsuccessful, the statement said.

Park employees euthanized the calf because it was left behind by the herd and “caused a dangerous situation by approaching cars and people along the road,” the statement said.

Later, Mr. Walters heard on a radio station in Montana that park officials were looking for a man—believed to be in his 40s or 50s—who had pushed the bison, and said, “That’s me.”

He said he went to a ranger station in Yellowstone to turn himself in. Citing an indictment issued to Mr. Walters, the U.S. law firm said: “There was nothing in the report to indicate that Mr. Walters acted maliciously.”

In its statement, Yellowstone National Park reminded visitors that approaching wildlife “can drastically affect their well-being and, in this case, their survival.”

Bison have lived in the Yellowstone National Park area since prehistoric times. Although their numbers dwindled to about two dozen by 1902, conservation efforts helped restore the population, which now hovers from about 2,300 to 5,500, according to the park.

Wild and unpredictable, the rugged, hunchbacked beasts are well known dirty park visitors. Yet tourists have often approached the animals, ignoring repeated warnings from officials to stay away.

In 2018, a man was arrested after he challenged a bison in Yellowstone. 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.

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.

Mr Walters said he acknowledged that his actions on May 20 were illegal.

“This was an act of compassion,” he said. “I really didn’t think it would be a crime to save the baby bison. The event happened so fast, I acted from my heart.”