Althouse: Selfies with wild animals.

July 23, 2015

Selfies with wild animals.

People are fools.

24 comments:

Bob Ellison said...: Is it a "selfie" if someone else is taking the shot?; 7/23/15, 7:55 AM
JAORE said...: Many years ago, I think I was eleven, I was leaning on a fence at a zoo. The baby bison withing the fence butted me. I landed about six feet away. I was dumb enough then to think the fence was a protective divider. These adults don't even have that excuse.

I blame Disney.; 7/23/15, 7:57 AM
Wilbur said...: "3,700 bison have died since 2000 during “hazing” or disease control operations"
If the Park Service can't stop hazing, we should close their fraternity.

Who will be the first to write "Darwin award"?; 7/23/15, 8:00 AM
JAORE said...: Oh yeah, I recall reading about a mom who was feeding peanuts to a chipmunk in Yellowstone. She and the kids were enthralled at the cute little beastie. So she decided to grab him for that special picture. He chewed a series of holes in her hand like a berserk Singer sewing machine. She complained that the chipmunks should be better trained.

I blame Disney.; 7/23/15, 8:00 AM
MadisonMan said...: Smart Phones for Dumb People.; 7/23/15, 8:02 AM
Curious George said...: Does a bear shit selfie takers in the woods?; 7/23/15, 8:12 AM
Patrick said...: Gotta watch or for those even toed ungulates.; 7/23/15, 8:20 AM
Unknown said...: I just think of it as evolution at work improving homo sapiens, and I'm quite ok with that...; 7/23/15, 8:29 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: People are fools?

You have 4 posts about: a 30- year old woman jumping off a building, a 43-year old mother getting gored by a bison during a selfie, a 30-something mother letting her toddler scream in a Maine diner, and a 30-something mother suing Ikea, after a dresser falls on her toddler.

Admittedly, two of these incidents have tragic elements, but each or these 4 women have documented their plights by photos, Facebook, emails and blogging, and, such documentation has become integrated into each of the stories, particularly for the bison woman.

Strikes me as a pattern of young, self-absorbed, women, showing extremely poor judgment and lacking even a smidgen of self-awareness or basic competence. But I ain't a psychologist.; 7/23/15, 8:35 AM
Fritz said...: Bison are all over the place in Yellowstone. I saw one standing outside a gas station, and we saw them regularly on trails. Sure, once in a while one gets pissy and runs over some one, but it's not much worse than cabs in New York.; 7/23/15, 8:36 AM
Larry J said...: Perhaps whomever it is that runs the Darwin Awards should establish a special photography category. People have died falling from cliffs while taking selfies. I've seen video of approaching tornados taken by idiots who should be seeking shelter. "Oh, look! A tsunami! I want to record that!"; 7/23/15, 8:43 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Fritz said...

I saw one standing outside a gas station, and we saw them regularly on trails.

I saw one drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic's. His hair was perfect.; 7/23/15, 8:50 AM
Michael said...: Okay, once more. The selfie-taker is Obama, the bison is Khamenei. Or Putin.; 7/23/15, 9:25 AM
Wince said...: The secret to a selfie with an animal, obviously, is to wear a fez.; 7/23/15, 9:29 AM
dhagood said...: @ignorance is bliss: niiiiice!; 7/23/15, 9:44 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Oh yeah, I recall reading about a mom who was feeding peanuts to a chipmunk in Yellowstone..."

It amazes me the way tourists are so bonkers over animals compared to landscapes. Here you have one of the most amazing landscapes in the world, and some common rodent fixates attention. Quite aside from the idiocy of grabbing a wild animal, it's idiocy to expend your Yellowstone time looking at chipmunks.; 7/23/15, 9:45 AM
Big Mike said...: Especially don't take a selfie with #MKELion.; 7/23/15, 10:45 AM
lgv said...: "...Taiwanese exchange student similarly turned her back on a bison to pose for a group photo when the even-toed ungulate took umbrage."

Nice, or over the top?

Maybe it's all those animated movies where all the animals are so nice.

I've been whacked by a whale tale and bumped by a few sharks, but always on full alert. You can be killed by wild animals even when they don't mean to cause you harm. The "safe" method is to assume that all animals are territorial and that you are invading their territory. Raccoons are so cute!!! People are fools.; 7/23/15, 11:01 AM
Doug said...: Ignorance is Bliss at 8:50 - FTW!; 7/23/15, 11:44 AM
Unknown said...: Years ago in Yellowstone a parent smeared honey on her child's face so they could get a photo of a bear licking it off. It did not turn out well.; 7/23/15, 12:03 PM
Anthony said...: We also have had our problems with mountain goats.; 7/23/15, 12:08 PM
Allen Cogbill said...: The first time I visited Yellowstone we drove past a man who had gotten out of his car to photograph a black bear cub that was adjacent to the roadway. The fellow was perhaps 12 feet from the cub. I cringed, hoping that the sow would not emerge and kill the man while I was watching (she did not). I hope he lived, but that was one of the stupidest acts I had ever seen.; 7/23/15, 12:31 PM
mikee said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/23/15, 1:08 PM
The Godfather said...: .50-90 Sharps. That's the cartridge that was developed for the Buffalo hunters in the 1870's. It's BIG. Take a look at what it takes to kill a buffalo (bison) and think about that before you get too friendly with the beast.

Chipmunks, though, are a lot easier to kill (.22 short or a size 10 boot will do it), but they're FAST. Don't let one get the drop on you.; 7/23/15, 1:22 PM