A group of tourists has been too mesmerized with three black bear cubs in a section of the Yellowstone National Park in Montana last Wednesday. The mother black bear chased the curious onlookers to their vehicles after the visitors crowded her cubs and the members of the group ended up walking and running away alternately.
As seen in the video, several tourists are taking pictures while keeping their distance from the family of black bears. The larger bear seemed to charge towards different people in the incident.
"Keep going! Go! Go!" John Kerr, Yellowstone Park Ranger, is captured shouting as the tourists spread in the area.
It may be unclear to the online viewers why the visitors did not run faster from the animals, but the National Park Service has warned tourists of running away from charging black bears as much as possible.
Bob Gibson, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks' (MFWP) communication and education program manager, expresses to NBC News that the visitors in the recently posted video are "absolutely in danger."
"Black bears are usually shy of people," Gibson cautions. "But you put them with their cubs and they get really protective. You never want to be between a bear and its cub."
The black cubs in the video are around 13 months of age. Black bear cubs are known to spend their first year studying survival skills from the mother black bear before roaming on their own. The black bear sow would then be less protective as the bear cubs prepare to leave her den. Gibson warns visitors to Yellowstone National Park to avoid getting near to black bears as possible, particularly in the spring when bear cubs are born and also in the fall when the black bears are getting near their hibernating period making them more defensive of their food.
Yellowstone National Park regulations require visitors to not approach willfully or allow the black bears to approach within 50 yards or 150 feet. Tourists should only observe and take photographs from established observation areas only.
Fortunately none of the tourists was injured or attacked, but wildlife experts state the black bear encounter is a picture-perfect example of the risks in Yellowstone National Park. It should remind tourists that wildlife can be unpredictable and dangerous. Visitors should respect wildlife and give them space to wander.
The park attracted over 3.5 million tourists last year, according to the National Park Service.
MFWP videographer Winston Greely recently captured the footage shown of a black bear sow and her cubs near Gardiner and can be viewed on Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' official YouTube page .
Photo: Eric Kilby | Flickr
Don't forget to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page.
