Yellowstone bison calf put down after 'stupid' tourists tried to rescue it from cold

[mystery-ak]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/16/yellowstone-bison-calf-put-down-after-stupid-tourists-tried-to-r/



    Nick Allen, Washington

17 May 2016 • 6:34am

A bison calf in Yellowstone National Park has been put down after tourists who thought it was cold put it in their car, causing the animal's mother to reject the calf when it returned to the herd.

Park wardens condemned the stupidity of the tourists involved after they loaded the animal into the back of their vehicle.

A spokesman told the Telegraph: "They received an initial ticket for $110 but they could face further charges."

They refused to disclose the nationality of the pair because an investigation is continuing.

continued with video

[mystery-ak]

Couldn't they have given it to a zoo....

[BigHomer]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/16/yellowstone-bison-calf-put-down-after-stupid-tourists-tried-to-r/



    Nick Allen, Washington

17 May 2016 • 6:34am

A bison calf in Yellowstone National Park has been put down after tourists who thought it was cold put it in their car, causing the animal's mother to reject the calf when it returned to the herd.

Park wardens condemned the stupidity of the tourists involved after they loaded the animal into the back of their vehicle.

A spokesman told the Telegraph: "They received an initial ticket for $110 but they could face further charges."

They refused to disclose the nationality of the pair because an investigation is continuing.

continued with video

I'm sure they were environmentalist wackos out to save the buffalo 

[Fishrrman]

I agree with Mystery above.

There are all kinds of "animal rescue" places, including those for larger animals such as horses.

No need to kill the young calf.

[roamer_1]

I agree with Mystery above. [...] No need to kill the young calf.

@mystery-ak

The federal parks system (at least here in MT) operates in a non-intervention fashion. They do not allow hunting, and neither do they interfere with the natural order (as much as possible).

Under that aegis, putting the calf down is an act of mercy - Preventing the suffering of starvation and ultimately a grisly death by always present wolves (which is the inevitable natural order of the thing)... without denying the wolves their due. Without the protection of the mother, and by extension the herd, the calf is doomed.

[Wingnut]

They refused to disclose the nationality of the pair because an investigation is continuing.

"International Visiters to the US"

also:

YELLOWSTONE OFFICIALS EXPLAIN WHY BISON CALF WAS EUTHANIZED
WYOMING 3  Updated at 3:40 pm, May 16th, 2016 By: Nate Eaton, EastIdahoNews.com

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — Yellowstone National Park is explaining why a bison calf was euthanized after tourists transported the animal to a ranger station last week.

Park rangers tried repeatedly to reunite the newborn bison calf with the herd, but these efforts failed, according to a news release issued Monday morning. The bison calf was later euthanized because it was abandoned and causing a dangerous situation by continually approaching people and cars along the roadway.

bison again

Some concerned tourists in Yellowstone National Park thought a bison calf was cold and put it in their SUV on Monday. | Courtesy of Karen Richardson

Many around the world have questioned why the animal was not transported to a zoo or other facility.

In a post on the Yellowstone Facebook page, officials gave an explanation:

In order to ship the calf out of the park, it would have had to go through months of quarantine to be monitored for brucellosis. No approved quarantine facilities exist at this time, and we don’t have the capacity to care for a calf that’s too young to forage on its own. Nor is it the mission of the National Park Service to rescue animals: our goal is to maintain the ecological processes of Yellowstone. Even though humans were involved in this case, it is not uncommon for bison, especially young mothers, to lose or abandon their calves. Those animals typically die of starvation or predation.

[Fishrrman]

roamer wrote:
"The federal parks system (at least here in MT) operates in a non-intervention fashion. They do not allow hunting, and neither do they interfere with the natural order (as much as possible).
Under that aegis, putting the calf down is an act of mercy - Preventing the suffering of starvation and ultimately a grisly death by always present wolves (which is the inevitable natural order of the thing)... without denying the wolves their due. Without the protection of the mother, and by extension the herd, the calf is doomed."

Not a "good enough" answer for me.

Ahem.... why don't we follow the exact same policy with -people-, as well?

THEN it will become good enough for me.

Aside:
Remember (wasn't it) the "Yellowstone Fire" of some years' back?
The one where the government "wouldn't intervene" at first because wildfires were supposed to be of "the natural order"?

[roamer_1]

Not a "good enough" answer for me.
Ahem.... why don't we follow the exact same policy with -people-, as well?
THEN it will become good enough for me.

People ain't animals. When you live near wilderness, you get a different perspective. Predators prey on the old, the infirm, and the young - that's just how it is. And had that calf been outside the park, I doubt it would have fared any different, if as well.

Aside:
Remember (wasn't it) the "Yellowstone Fire" of some years' back?
The one where the government "wouldn't intervene" at first because wildfires were supposed to be of "the natural order"?

Yeah, well, we lose close to 1/4 million acres a year to fire in NW Montana, so... No biggie. Like I said, reality is a little different when it's real.