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Workers at Yellowstone National Park had to euthanize a baby bison because of an incident between a visitor and the animal.
The baby bison became separated from its family while crossing the Lamar River in the park. A man, whose name is not known, pushed the animal out of the river onto the road.
The park’s rules say people must stay at least 25 yards (about 23 meters) away from bison, elk, and most other animals. The rule is 100 yards (about 91 meters) for bears and wolves. Approaching wild animals can harm them, says the National Park.
After the man touched the baby bison, visitors saw it walking up to cars and people, which is dangerous for everyone. The park rangers tried to reunite the baby with its herd but failed.
Eventually, they had to euthanize the bison because it was abandoned by the herd and was causing danger to cars and people.
Yellowstone National Park is looking for the man who touched the bison.
He could be in trouble for disturbing wildlife, behaving inappropriately, and getting too close to animals. If they decide the man is guilty, he might have to go to jail for up to six months and pay a fine of $5,000.
In the past, other visitors who touched animals were severely injured. At least three people were injured by bison in May and June last year.
Vocabulary
- National Park – A park or land that is protected by a country’s government
- Euthanize – To kill an animal painlessly and peacefully
- Incident – event; situation; something that happened; occurrence
- Separate – to disconnect; to detach; to move apart or away from something else; to split
- Rule – A guideline or regulation; sometimes a law
- At least – The minimum or smallest amount or number of something
- Yard – a unit of measure for distance that is equal to 3 feet or about 1 meter
- Approach – To get or go closer to something; to move towards
- Harm – injury, damage, or problems you create;
- Park ranger – A person who takes care of a park, helps visitors, and protects plants and animals
- Reunite – To come together again after being apart
- Herd – A group of animals, like cows or sheep, that live or move together
- Eventually – After a while or over time; later on
- Abandoned – When something or someone is left behind or deserted
- Cause – make something (usually bad) happen; create
- Disturb – To interrupt or bother
- Wildlife – Animals and plants that live in nature, not in cities or towns
- Behave – How someone acts or conducts themselves; the way or manner a person carries themself
- Inappropriately – When something is done or said in a way that is not suitable, proper, or correct
- Guilty – responsible for breaking a law or doing something wrong; at fault; in the wrong
- Jail – a place where people are held/kept as punishment for a crime
- Fine – a penalty or punishment you have to pay with money
- In the past – before the present time; earlier
- Severely – seriously; an intense or great degree; strict; harsh; strongly
- Injured – hurt; wounded; harmed; to have damage to your body
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- What do you think should happen to people who break the rules and disturb animals in national parks?
- In your opinion, what can national parks do to stop things like what happened with the baby bison from happening again?
- Should national parks make their rules stricter to keep visitors safe and protect animals? Why or why not?
- Do you think it’s more important to protect animals or make visitors happy in national parks? Explain your opinion.
Original Story
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