Look, I get it, wildlife is cool. No one appreciates an incredible photo or video more than I, but there is a time and a place. When visiting Yellowstone National Park, you can expect to see some pretty awesome wildlife. From bison to bears to wolves, there is always something to look at. However, the general rule of thumb is to maintain a respectable distance. Maybe this individual thought that only meant with their body. Now, this Yellowstone tourist is potentially facing jail time after buzzing an osprey nest with his drone.
Yellowstone Tourist Buzzes Osprey Nest With Drone
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Oftentimes, it is tourists who get too close to large animals like bison or bears that cause a scene at Yellowstone. However this time a tourist got too close to an animal with their drone. Cowboy State Daily shares that the tourist is accused of buzzing an osprey nest with their drone. There are multiple problems with this scenario.
First, flying drones is illegal in Yellowstone. Additionally, so is harassing wildlife. Finally, the ospreys are protected at Yellowstone National Park. So this was a bad idea from all angles. Now the tourist could face "stiff penalties including six months in jail/and or a $5,000 fine." The tourist was caught in the act and ticketed; now he is waiting to see if further action will be taken.
California resident Vince Botkin saw the drone pilot and alerted park rangers after he had a brief encounter with the man himself. Botkin spoke with Cowboy State Daily, sharing that he decided to report it because he is growing tired of people being "disrespectful or stupid around wildlife."
He noticed the drone act when he was trying to admire the osprey nest. He admitted that a pair of the birds were trying to tidy up the nest, then they flew off in a panic. That is when he noticed the drone buzzing around the nest, scaring the birds. "That's the most flagrant violation I have ever seen," he stated.
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