In the wake of a 9-year-old girl getting launched into the air by a bison in Yellowstone National Park in late July and the goring of a teenager in North Dakota by a bison less than a week later, a video of a man petting one of the hulking mammals from a boardwalk in Yellowstone went viral on Aug. 7, eliciting rebuke from park officials. The following day, the National Park Service posted this witty and sarcastic graphic of a “wildlife petting chart,” underscoring that keeping a safe distance from wildlife not only protects humans but also wildlife. “Know the risks of getting too close to wild animals and how to avoid them,” the Facebook post read. GRAPHIC COURTESY OF NPS
