Man in Yellowstone caught aggravating bear in viral video prompts reminder from wildlife officials

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is reminding people to leave wildlife alone after a video of a man aggravating a bear in Yellowstone National Park went viral on Sunday. The video comes weeks after Grand Teton National Park authorities accused two people of harassing a bison calf in park.

A video posted by the Instagram account Tourons of Yellowstone shows a man running up to a bear and barking at it. The bear starts to approach the man, at which point he runs and gets into the car that a second person is filming from. The man and the person filming can be heard laughing throughout the video.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by TouronsOfYellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone)

The video went viral over the weekend, leading to a search for the man. If found by authorities, the man could face six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

DWR Public Information Officer Faith Heaton Jolley said it’s important to leave wildlife alone when outdoors.

“You need to share this space with them,” she said. “It’s their home, it’s their food.”

She said instead of actively harassing wildlife like the Yellowstone man, whenever people encounter animals in the wild, they need to instead stay calm and keep their distance.

In Utah, there are similar laws protecting wildlife to Yellowstone. One could face criminal charges for aggravating animals in the wild, Jolley said.

She said if you see someone behaving aggressively towards an animal, you should immediately report them to local authorities.

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