Yellowstone tourist gets jail time after video showed her too close to bears, feds say

A Yellowstone tourist was caught on video walking toward a grizzly and her cubs. Now she’ll spend days in jail for it.

The woman from Illinois was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court to four days in jail and one year of probation after she pleaded guilty to charges related to the incident, according to court documents.

The tourist was also ordered to pay $1,000 to the Yellowstone Forever Wildlife Protection Fund, the nonprofit partner of the national park, as well as other fines and fees.

In May, the woman was spotted on video standing within feet of a grizzly bear at the national park. It appears in the video she was taking photos or videos with her phone when the bear started to run toward her.

The woman gasped and walked away. Yellowstone park officials then investigated the incident.

“We’d like to emphasize the importance for people to stay in their vehicles if grizzlies with cubs are less than 100 yards away,” Yellowstone park officials told McClatchy News in a May 17 email. “The people in the video got out of their car to view a mother grizzly and two cubs that were much closer than 100 yards away.”

The woman was later charged in July with “feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or intentional disturbing of wildlife,” according to court documents. She was also charged with violating closures and use limits.

Yellowstone officials said animals within the park are wild and unpredictable. They can also be dangerous. Tourists should always stay at least 300 feet away from bears and wolves, and about 75 feet away from other animals.

“Every year people are injured when they approach animals too closely, and animals that attack people may need to be killed,” park officials said.

Other tourists have also been sentenced to jail time for harassing wildlife in the past.

In 2018, an Oregon man was sentenced to 130 days in jail after he was seen on video taunting a bison that had stopped traffic, the Associated Press reported. The man was banned from Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier national parks for five years.

“If you cause an animal to move, you’re too close,” park officials said. “It’s illegal to willfully remain near or approach wildlife, including birds, within any distance that disturbs or displaces the animal.”