FACT CHECK: No, Grizzly Bears Are Not Fleeing Yellowstone National Park In Droves Because They’re Sensing The Super Volcano Eruption

Don’t believe everything you read – or watch – on the internet.

It might have been annoying to hear that from your parents growing up, but it’s the truth. Now, more than ever, being a skeptical web surfer is key to discerning what’s real and what’s not. It’s very important to take everything with a grain of salt, especially in the modern age where artificial intelligence can easily generate fake videos and photos.

Though on occasion, a good old fashioned rumor shared with a real (but repurposed) video can still do the trick. For some reason, people are more likely to believe a story when there’s someone narrating over the top of footage. That’s exactly what happened with this fabricated internet story involving Yellowstone National Park and it’s infamous super volcano.

For some quick background information, I remember I was floored when I learned about the super volcano quietly resting (hopefully it’s resting) underneath one of America’s most recognizable national parks. Know where all of Yellowstone’s geysers and thermal pools get their heat and pressure? That’d be the volcanic plateau that lies underneath Montana, Idaho and Wyoming – and obviously Yellowstone.

Quick note: “Volcanic Plateau” sounds like a straight-to-DVD action thriller from the mid 2000s starring Nicolas Cage, does it not?

If the Yellowstone super volcano were to ever “go boom,” there would be some devastating initial effects, and longterm climate issues stemming from the blanket of ash that would cover much of the United States. But scientists don’t believe – or at the very least aren’t entirely convinced – that the often-talked-about volcano will ever erupt, since there’s not enough molten magma beneath Yellowstone to fuel an eruption.

Now that you’ve gotten through “Whiskey Riff Science Hour,” let’s get to the rumor that’s been spreading online, shall we?

One social media user by the name of Scott Whitehead shared a video on Facebook that’s been viewed (drumroll please) over 16 million times. The footage shows a large amount of bears all walking in the same direction, and the man claimed that this was currently happening in Yellowstone National Park, and that other animals in addition to these bears were fleeing the area because they could sense that the super volcano was about to erupt.

Definitely an interesting story… but people, he’s purposely mispronouncing words as he talks. Clearly this is supposed to be some sort of weird, can’t-believe-I-gotchya-with-this meme:

Crazy to think that 16 million people saw that, and most of them just took his word for it. That’s the dangerous part about getting most of our news from social media, I suppose.

As it turns out, that rumor is completely, overwhelmingly false. That video wasn’t even taken recently. The original can be traced back to a TikTok video that was shared in January of 2025. And more importantly? That’s not even Yellowstone National Park. The clip was actually taken in Bear Country U.S.A., which is a wildlife park near Rapid City, South Dakota.

And if you look into Whitehead’s social media page, he’s notorious for making videos like this. What’s the purpose of them if they are just spreading fabricated stories? That’s a good question. Maybe it’s just to keep people on their toes, or prove the point that there are a lot of gullible people on the internet.

If you need one last kicker to discredit the man’s viral post, look no further than the top comment on the video. Yellowstone National Park must have got wind that this story was spreading around, so they fired up their social media account, tracked down the video, and left this note for those that come across it:

“Folks – wildlife is not leaving the park in large numbers. This is a false rumor.”

There you have it. THE TRUTH… straight from Yellowstone National Park.

And if you ever want to make it out to Bear Country USA… it looks pretty cool:

The post FACT CHECK: No, Grizzly Bears Are Not Fleeing Yellowstone National Park In Droves Because They’re Sensing The Super Volcano Eruption first appeared on Whiskey Riff.