Stupid Tourists Walking Up to Old Faithful, Feeding Bears
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It's that time of year. Thousands of tourists have descended upon our National Parks, and while most are upstanding folks, there are always a few bad apples. This week, a tourist visiting Old Faithful ignored signs warning against approaching the geyser and walked within feet of Yellowstone's most famous attraction. When booed by the crowd, he flipped them off, showing the exact level of class we'd expect from such a person. It's unclear what, if any repercussions the man faced, but he was approached by park officials, according to eyewitnesses.
In a similar vein, the Signal Mountain Summit Road in Grand Teton National Park was temporarily closed due to reports of tourists feeding bears and reports of bears bluff-charging tourists, according to a GTNP press release. There are numerous reasons why feeding bears is a bad idea, but we'll make it simple: If caught feeding a bear, you can face up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. You could also be mauled by a bear. For more information on staying safe in bear country, see these guidelines from the Park Service.
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We're going to give the geyser-walker and bear-feeder(s) the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are merely stupid, not actively malicious. That said, bears and geysers will kill you regardless of your intentions, so does it really matter?
