Visiting a park? Look but Don't Touch!

I read with sadness about the baby bison that recently had to be euthanized at Yellowstone National Park. Seems some visitors to the park picked up the adorable calf, thinking it had been abandoned by its mom. They had first tried to get the baby bison off the road. They were unable to do so and with no cell phone coverage, the newborn calf was placed into their car and transported to the ranger station. Rangers released the calf  back into the wild. Unfortunately, the calf was ostracized by the rest of the herd, I guess because the newborn had human smells on its body. Additional attempts were made to find another herd of buffalo that would adopt the little tyke but were unsuccessful. Since the park has no way of caring for an abandoned calf, the calf was euthanized. It is an illegal act to interfere with the wildlife in a national park. I am sure the people in this situation had good intentions but, if you visit a park, please LEAVE all wildlife alone! 

Gail

Photograph from abc7.com