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Making America's Best Idea Even Better
Yellowstone National ParkA bull elk grasses on fall grass.
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Yellowstone National Park
Wildlife Safety Videos

Park regulations state that visitors must stay more than 100 yards away from bears and wolves and 25 yards away from other wildlife. Many visitors see large wild animals that seem tame and therefore approach far closer than they should. These videos are intended to convince everyone that it is unwise to approach wild animals even if they seem tame.

© These videos are copyrighted by the videographers. They are not in the public domain and may not be reproduced in any way.

 
Image of bison charging around a tree with people behind it.

Man is Gored by Bison
© Held by Unknown Videographer

This video shows a man near the West Thumb Geyser Basin who approached far too close to a bull bison. When bison charge they can move faster than the fastest Olympic runner. This bison caught up with his quarry very quickly.

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A bull elk charges a red pick-up.

Elk Rams Cars in Mammoth
© Paul Chalfant

A Mammoth Hot Springs resident and National Park Service employee, Paul Chalfant, shot the video of a bull elk ramming several vehicles when they stopped too close to the bull's harem. Paul was shooting from his porch and often retreated to the safety of his house. What follows is the text transcript of the audio with a brief description of the associated video.

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A boy runs as a bison charges behind him.

Bison at Old Faithful
Video used with permission. Copyright retained by the videographer.

The video clip was shot by two different visitors. The first portion was shot by one of the visitors being chased. He is with a half-dozen other visitors who were taking refuge behind a group of pine trees. The second part was shot by a visitor observing from a distance who was standing on the benches near Old Faithful Geyser.

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A man tries to hide behind a tree from a charging bison.

Bison at Old Faithful
Video used with permission. Copyright retained by the videographer.

In this video a group of visitors with children approach a bison too closely. He charges and tosses one of the visitors into some shrubbery and then corners him behind a tree.

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A bull elk chases a man.

Elk Safety Video
Video used with permission. Copyright retained by the videographers.

This safety video was produced to show in our visitor centers. It depicts several examples of what not to do while viewing elk during the fall rut. Please watch elk from a safe distance of at least 25 yards, and obey the directions of park rangers and volunteers.

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Fire in Yellowstone Pineland in 1988  

Did You Know?
The 1988 fires affected 793,880 acres or 36 percent of the park. Five fires burned into the park that year from adjacent public lands. The largest, the North Fork Fire, started from a discarded cigarette. It burned more than 410,000 acres.

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Last Updated: September 23, 2008 at 08:50 EST