Yellowstone National Park BEGS Tourists To Stay Away From Grizzly Bear Traps: “Critical That All Members Of The Public Heed These Signs”

Yellowstone National Park is begging those visiting the area to do one, simple thing: Read the signs.

They’ve unfortunately learned from prior experience that tourists – also referred to as “tourons” – have an inexplicably hard time reading signs and following rules within the park. Yellowstone National Park is often home to some absolutely wild videos, where people walk out onto thermal areas, or approach wild animals with reckless abandon.

And if you are wondering, “Why don’t they warn people not to do that stuff?” They do, and no one (or at least a lot of bad apples) just disregard the warnings.

Now, Yellowstone National Park is hoping that they can get the attention of those who will be visiting the park over the next month or so. That’s because their Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team is working to capture grizzly bears to study the species’ recovery, as they explained in their press release:

“As part of ongoing monitoring efforts to document recovery of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Geological Survey, in conjunction with Yellowstone National Park, is working to inform the public that pre-baiting and scientific capture operations are once again about to begin within Yellowstone National Park.

Agency biologists with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) will begin the field captures Sept. 1 and continue through Oct. 15. Capture operations can include a variety of activities, but all areas where work is being conducted will have major access points marked with warning signs. It is critical that all members of the public heed these signs.”

Hear that “tourons?” Do not go near the grizzly bear capture areas that will be set up from the beginning of September to the middle of October.

Obviously, this work that all the organizations are doing to monitor the grizzly bear population is already hard enough. The last thing they need are some non-sign-heeding idiots to walk near or mess with their grizzly traps, which will utilize natural food sources (road-killed elk and deer) to lure in the apex predators.

The traps themselves shouldn’t be dangerous to tourists, since culvert traps and foot snares are being used. The dangerous part lies in the fact that a tourist could wander up to one of the bear capture areas… and then a grizzly could show up. That’s what Yellowstone National Park is concerned with, and why they are warning everyone – besides the professionals handling everything with strict safety and animal care protocols – to keep their distance.

And according to their statement, the bear capture areas should be littered with bright-colored signs that are hard to miss:

“Whenever bear capture activities are being conducted for scientific purposes, the area around the site will be posted with bright warning signs to inform the public of the activities occurring. These signs are posted along the major access points to the capture site. It is important that the public heed these signs and do not venture into an area that has been posted.”

Don’t be a “touron”… heed the signs people.The post Yellowstone National Park BEGS Tourists To Stay Away From Grizzly Bear Traps: “Critical That All Members Of The Public Heed These Signs” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.