Yeah I was going to say... Make no mistake: a cow will run you down and trample you. I grew up on a farm with cows (not our farm, we rented a house there, so I don’t know anything about livestock other than what I observed), and as kids we would frequently walk through the pastures where they grazed. We never tried to…

I am not saying you’re wrong, but shouldn’t being unfamiliar with something make you MORE cautious?? I know that when I travel and local signs or people tell me not to do something, I trust their knowledge of the area more than my gut, “ahh, it’ll be okay” feeling.

Hee, he’s a famous trained bear in Hollywood that’s been used in thousands of TV shows and movies that are featuring a bear for some reason. He’s as used to humans as you could reasonably expect a bear to be.

Water buffalo live all over Asia.

Honestly. We’re watching Game of Thrones and just saw the ep with Bart The Bear. That mother fucker is FUCKING HUGE. I know he’s trained etc. but you could not pay me enough to get down in that pit with him.

A giant cow with knives on its head!

A furry cow the size of a tractor or a huge diesel lifted truck. They are massive animals that are dangerous. And by the way, cows can be dangerous if you aren’t careful. None of these animals are pets. (Ergates, I know you were being factious, I don’t know if those readers east of the Mississippi are aware just how…

Even if you can’t read English, that image is pretty crystal fucking clear.

I was on safari in Tanzania, and I asked the driver/guide who was his worst ever tourist.

I feel sympathy for the girl, for sure, on that front. The angriest I’ve ever seen my partner was when these people with two little kids were walking up like they were about to let their children pet the buffalo. He intervened with a vengeance immediately. Sadly it’s a really common thing, and dumbass parents continue…

They really did, they should have had a distance of around 75 feet not 3-6.

You are right...this has been a problem for far longer than selfies, cell phones, and social media have been around.

Oh, wow. It sounds like her host family really dropped the ball.

Yeah, that’s a pretty clear picture. She was probably just ignoring it, like a lot of other tourists do. :\

I just read on the Gawker article that the her and the host family were standing 3 or 6 feet away from Bison before it attacked, the host family should have not allowed that and she probably had no idea that you are not supposed to turn your back because they probably did not say anything.

Yellowstone sees an insane number of non-English-speaking tourists, though! That’s why the thing they hand you at the door and the many, many signs have this very clear illustration (ETA oh god that is HUGE, sorry!):

I agree with Lilly Hungry Hungry Hipster below. Went to a national park when I was ten in the 1980s and saw these same shenanigans. Also, I don’t blame the teen, her host family is supposed to be responsible for her.

We used to drive through Jasper and Banff National Parks in Alberta and BC all the time while I was a kid, and we’re talking 25 years ago and people have ALWAYS done this shit.

I don’t really disagree with you, but I visited Yellowstone like 13 years ago before cellphones with cameras (and selfies) were super prevalent... people were still getting way too close to the wild animals, they were just taking the pictures with old fashioned cameras instead. It’s less of a viral thing and more of…

There are about A MILLION signs in the park that essentially say, “Stay away from buffalo because they WILL GORE and KILL you.” When I went, I was basically, “Um, yup, they’re huge and terrifying, thanks. Who would want to go that close to them?”