The Stupidest Thing I Have Ever Seen. (Long, language!)

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

When I went to Yellowstone with my parents almost 10 years ago, I saw some touron (heh heh...) stepping off the trail onto the ground by some geysers.

There are numerous signs warning that the rock in this area is pretty thin--thin enough that the weight of a human being could cause it to give way, plunging said human to a scalding death.

The buffalo must have been pretty camera-shy, because it gored her.

In the butt.

That gives new meaning to the phrase "tearing somebody a new asshole"

[Sunsetsky]

I've been to Yellowstone twice. Saw a ton of wildlife but didn't see anyone stupidly getting close to it. What I did see was people wandering off trail (despite the "Keep on trail or else" signs) over by the geysers because they wanted to get a closeup.

[Rubyred]

Honestly. How stupid do you have to be to chase a freaking bear?

Thats like swimming with an alligator (which I have seen by the way).

Then when the animal in question mauls the morons they want it destroyed.

[XCashier]

For those who worked at camp sites and the like you will definitely feel this guy's pain.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/slc/203274705.html

I've never worked at a camp site, and I feel his pain! It seems Park Rangers have to deal with Sucky Customers, too. How very sad.

Seriously, if you don't know how to respect nature, stay the hell home!

That gives new meaning to the phrase "tearing somebody a new asshole"

Yeah, literally! Go buffalo!

[BookstoreEscapee]

Well, the sign said "Don't feed the bears" not "Don't chase the bears."

I hate when I'm watching funny video shows and some little kid is running after geese or something and suddenly the goose turns and snaps at the kid...and the parents think this is funny? They may look goofy but if they're in the mood they'll HURT your toddler. Who in their right mind lets their kids chase after wild animals? (Well, my neighbor's grandson likes to chase bunnies, but he's not trying to catch them, he just likes to follow and see where they go.)

People go crazy over squirrels? Hell, I just have to look out my kitchen window at the bird feeder if I wanna see squirrels!

[ForestDragon]

I've been to Yellowstone several times and it still strikes me as uber-cool to see elk lying out in the fields like cattle (not that the buffalo don't do that as well, but well, they are cattle. Still neat to see, though). Never saw a bear or a wolf, sad to say, but that was probably because we were just passing through seeing the sights and not actually camping there (after they reached a certain age, my folks became serious believers in motel camping. Old bones and forest floors just don't jibe after awhile).

Not to say that half the entertainment sometimes isn't watching the damnfools being damned fools. I imagine it was probably the same bull Hawaiianshirts mentioned that was sunning himself by the road that had all the idiots leaping out of their trucks, campers, et al. and go running across the road (without looking out for traffic, natch) to go take a picture. Nobody got gored so far as I know, but we didn't stay that long; we being my father and myself on a big ol' motorcycle. Last thing you want when you don't happen to have a big suit of armor on four wheels is to be stuck stationary when something big and toothy or antlered or horned gets pissed and is suddenly coming at you at warp speed.

Dad did get out of the truck once to get photos of a herd of bachelor bulls but he did it in a sane way - kept the truck door open in case he needed to make a quick escape, kept the truck between himself and the bison and took his shot over the hood using a telephoto lens. Remember shutterbugs, when it comes to wildlife photography - especially potentially dangerous wildlife - the telephoto is your friend.

Oh, a question for anyone who might live in the Yosemite area - what exactly is that bright red squirrel with the tufty ears and really loud and fast chatter? I got cussed out by one of those when I went to Yosemite and was wondering about that.