Yellowstone National Park in the United States has urged visitors to protect wildlife after a series of incidents that left animals dead or endangered, including one in which tourists gave a newborn moose a ride in their car.
The park issued an appeal late last week urging visitors to drive with care and follow safety regulations after several reports of fatal collisions between vehicles and wildlife.
“In recent days, some actions by visitors have endangered people and wildlife and resulted in the death of some animals,” the park said in a press release. “The park asks visitors to protect wildlife by understanding how their actions can negatively impact wildlife.”
On Memorial Day weekend, visitors loaded a newborn moose calf into their car and drove it to the West Yellowstone Police Department. The animal later ran into the forest. His condition is unknown, the park said.
On May 28, two adult bears, both dark chocolate brown in color, were struck and killed in separate vehicle collisions in the park, Yellowstone said.
At around 5:00 pm, a vehicle struck an adult male black bear near mile 14 of US Highway 191 in the northwest section of Yellowstone.
Later that night, a second adult black bear was struck and killed by a vehicle at mile 29 of US Hwy 191, the park said.
A moose and bison were also hit by separate vehicles in the following days, Yellowstone said.
speed inspection
The park said it would be “significantly increasing speed enforcement” on Highway 191 in the park, where the speed limit is 55 mph (88 km/h). On most other roads in the park, the limit is 45 mph (72 km/h) or less, Yellowstone said.
The park urged drivers to be careful at night, noting that the animals’ fur absorbs light, making them harder to spot.
Yellowstone has also warned visitors to keep their distance from wildlife after several incidents were reported.
One case was of a man who grabbed a newborn bison calf and pushed it from the river onto the road in the northeast part of the park on May 20.
The calf was eventually euthanized and the man pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or disturbing wildlife, the Wyoming U.S. Attorney’s office said May 31.
Last year, two visitors were injured by bison after getting too close to the animals, the park said.
The park said it was investigating a number of other recent bison-related incidents.
Yellowstone emphasized that park regulations require visitors to remain 25 meters from all wildlife and at least 100 meters from bears and wolves.
“Getting close to wild animals can drastically affect their well-being and, in some cases, their survival. When an animal is near a campground, trail, boardwalk, parking lot, on a road or in a developed area, leave it alone and give it space,” the park said in the statement.
(Contributed by Paradise Afshar)
Source: CNN Brasil
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