In case you missed it, a viral video of a bison selfie gone wrong at Custer State Park in South Dakota is making the rounds on Twitter again, thanks to the recent “Darwin Award:”
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Todays Darwin Award (She wanted a selfie with a bison calf) pic.twitter.com/tz0iAJTNwJ
— Vicious Videos (@ViciousVideos) June 17, 2023
Of course, Twitter never fails when it comes to hilarious reactions to perfectly avoidable incidents like this. Here are a few of our favorites.
First, the National Park Service provided some selfie stats:
Behind every successful selfie, there are at least 50 failed attempts. Why add a 2,500 pound bison to the mix?
— National Park Service (@NatlParkService) June 15, 2023
This cartoon shows the conversation that likely happened when the bison returned to his herd:
🦬…😁 pic.twitter.com/34KMjEqVFy
— Native Red Cloud🪶Maȟpíya Lúta~Hińhan Wakangli⚡️🦉 (@Native3rd) June 18, 2023
Bison are big fans of social distancing, we’d all be wise to remember that.
— BleedNRed (@BleedNRed1) June 17, 2023
I didn’t know this was a service the NPS offered, but it’s good to see some people taking advantage of it.
The woman was simply taking advantage of the Bison pants removal service offered by the park
— Harry M Leith (@leithofleith) June 17, 2023
Here are a couple of people who loved the “matter-of-fact” background commentary from the guy next to the woman filming this disaster.
This dude has the most “what else did you think was gonna happen” attitude 💀
— Chufferson (@chuffers0n) June 17, 2023
“She has no pants on?”
— Tim Arsenault (@titanictimmah) June 17, 2023
Matter of fact response: “Nope. Not any more!”
I’m dying lol.
Here’s another NPS meme that gives everyone a pretty simple reminder:
One of my favs from the NPS 😆 pic.twitter.com/dk6VqAvRch
— 🥑GA Avocado Junkie #CompassionMatters🟧🏳️🌈 (@exblonde21) June 18, 2023
This person sums up what the lady was probably thinking right before her approach:
An adult Bison weighs around 2,000 lbs. “I gotta interview this famously stand offish animal up close”
— 🌻🌻🌊🌊Resist (@miketheknife007) June 17, 2023
And finally, a lesson we can all take away from this unfortunate situation:
Note to self: do not take a selfie with a bison ✅
— Murda (@murdahhhhhh) June 18, 2023
But Seriously – Stay Away From The Bison
With the increasing crowds at our national parks, it seems like more and more videos like this pop up every year. According to a report from Utah State University, bison are the biggest threat to humans among all the wildlife in Yellowstone National Park, and have injured more people than any other animal in the park. In fact, between 1978 and 1992, 56 people were injured and two people were killed by bison in Yellowstone.
Bison weigh up to 2,000 lbs. and can top out at 35 MPH at full speed, so most experts suggest you should stay at least 100 yards away from them when in the wild.
To sum it all up, keep your distance, and you can avoid winning a Darwin Award on Twitter.
