A national park is not a petting zoo. The animals are wild and are not socialized for regular contact with humans. Not only can they hurt you, but you can hurt them too. In 2026, a well-meaning visitor put a baby bison in his car and drove it to a ranger station due to what the NPS called “misplaced concern for the animal’s well-being.” . When rangers attempted to return him to the herd, he was rejected and ultimately had to be euthanized.
Instead of approaching and/or touching a wild animal, call a park ranger to the scene. Park regulations are to stay at least 25 yards (23 m) away from all wildlife and at least 100 yards (91 m) from wolves and bears.
Don’t go without a leash
In some parks, pets are welcome. However, they are not intended to move freely. In 2021, a 20-year-old woman suffered thermal burns while trying to save her runaway dog from a hot spring. Although the circumstances were different, his account is a warning to boundary breakers like Brosnan, who was fortunate not to have been seriously injured by the hot mud pools, blowholes and geysers of the thermal areas.
Four-legged friends who will be frequent visitors are invited to become BARK Ambassadors. They might even get close to some of the working dogs and handlers in the BARK Rangers program. But there are pet policies to protect your pet, as well as wildlife and other visitors.
Leaves no trace
Putting the National Park Service’s 7 Leave No Trace principles into practice should be simple. Unless you live within the park boundaries, no one should even know you’ve been there.
For the rest of us, the rules are simple: travel and camp on maintained trails and designated campsites, repackage food to minimize waste, and use fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires. established in approved areas. Boschulte adds that you should “pack up all trash, avoid picking plants or disturbing rocks, and keep noise levels to a minimum.”
Finally, the Yellowstone National Park Superintendent’s Office encourages visitors to go a step further and take the #YellowstonePledge that you’ll follow ten great tips – like giving wildlife a wide berth and leaving the drones at home – in order to better protect. the park.
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