Grizzly bears are fiercely protective animals. They are not afraid to attack anyone or anything that gets too close to their cubs, but they are even more protective over their food.
In this video, captured by @yellowstone_enthusiast and shared to @touronsofyellowstone, multiple groups of tourists watch very closely as a grizzly feasted on what appears to be a deer carcass by the side of the road.
At the beginning of the video, you can hear someone say, “Oh, he’s getting freaked,” describing the bears demeanor as people approached. Of the people captured on film, there were several children who also happened to appear the closest to the feeding bear.
Tourons of Yellowstone, a social media profile dedicated to sharing bad behavior in national parks, captioned the video, “Some might think that this griz would be too occupied to care about the tourons, but this is probably one of the most dangerous positions to be in. Grizzly Bears become very protective when it comes to their food, the griz might think that these ppl are a threat and it would take him literally seconds to reach one of these tourons!
”
View this post on Instagram
The profile continued, “Obviously no ranger was present, and those children being there and so close just gives me massive amounts of anxiety! There is a reason you should keep 100 yards or more from bears, especially Grizzlies.”
The park visitor were extremely lucky that the bear did not attack. Bear attacks on humans are rare, but they do happen. Last month, a woman was mauled to death by a grizzly just outside of Yellowstone National Park. Game and fish officials were unable to located the bear responsible for the attack.
When encountering wildlife, the National Park Service recommends that people stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves, and 25 yards away from bison and elk.
