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Yellowstone bison charges child as father watches and laughs


If you came across a 2000 pound wild animal while walking in the wilderness, would you encourage your child to pet it? The above video shows a father doing just that.

While this question should be a rhetorical no brainer, one family that came across a bison while hiking in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming actually egged on the children to get closer to the wild animal, and then watched as it charged their smallest child. The incident was captured on YouTube, and is quickly earning the unidentified adults in the video a reputation as the "worst parents in Yellowstone," reports the Daily Mail.

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The one-and-a-half minute video shows a group of seven people — six children and one adult — approaching a massive bison that stands near their path. The man filming stands at a safe distance from the animal and can be heard saying, "'Oh my gosh, oh my gosh," and then, "He's friendly."

As the bison shakes its head, appearing to grow restless, the man behind the camera laughs and says, "'See his head movements, see him gesturing? He's saying I will get you, I will get you." It sounds like a warning, but then moments later, he tells the naive children to "touch him on the head."

The lone adult standing with the kids near the bison seems to find the whole thing hilarious, but then as the bison begins to thrash about, he backs away, and the three older looking children move away, leaving the three smallest kids standing near the animal.

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Suddenly, the bison charges the group, and the smallest boy is separated and must sprint around a large bush to escape the galloping beast. Even after the boy narrowly escapes the bison and rejoins the family, the man on camera laughs as if the whole thing is a joke. Yellowstone has reposted the video on their West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce Facebook page with the following comment:

"This video is one that makes us angry, especially at the irresponsible person behind the camera urging the children 'to go ahead and touch him.' This group has no idea how incredibly lucky they were that no one was injured or killed… As a leader or parent or guide, it is your responsibility to take the time to understand and follow them, and provide the example for others."

This isn't the first time a Yellowstone bison attack has been caught on tape.

In 2010, Cathy Hayes was filming her brother-in-law getting close to one of the park's bison when it began wildly bucking and charged the woman and her family. They all escaped unscathed, reports NBC, but not every Yellowstone visitor has been so lucky. According to the park's website, three people have been killed in bison attacks since the park was founded.

So what's the takeaway here? Don't taunt enormous wild animals, and if you feel you must, taunt them yourself — don't make your kids do it.