“And These People Reproduce”: Guy Violates Yellowstone Trespassing Rules, Netizens Respond Wittily

Yellowstone is not only one of the most beautiful places on Earth, but also one of the most potentially dangerous. Scientists believe that a possible eruption of the supervolcano here could threaten life on the entire planet… and while the volcano sleeps peacefully, our quiet life is threatened by various entitled folks who consider themselves above any rules.

Our story today is about one of these guys, recently spotted in the Yellowstone National Park. Photos of this man appeared online, sparking a massive wave of condemnation among netizens, as well as calls to find him and ban him from visiting any national park. However, let’s just cut to the chase.

More info: Facebook

A random guy was recently spotted walking across the restricted area in Yellowstone National Park

Visitor walking across forbidden area in Yellowstone National Park while others stay on boardwalk near steaming geothermal features.

Image credits: Anonymous / Facebook

Apparently, the man was just collecting hats that had fallen from visitors’ heads into the off-limits area

There is a Facebook group called “Yellowstone National Park: Invasion of The Idiots™!” whose members share photos of tourists either behaving in the strangest ways or brazenly violating the rules of conduct in the national park. Quite often, these violators are found and punished – let’s hope this happens to today’s guy as well.

So, on July 30, a post appeared in the group with images of a man who was walking across a protected off-limits zone in his flip-flops, apparently collecting hats that had fallen from visitors’ heads into the off-limits area. Usually, if the wind blows a hat off a tourist and carries it onto this area, the headwear remains lying there – but not in this case.

Visitor walking across forbidden area in Yellowstone, raising concerns about where the rangers are in the park.

Image credits: Anonymous / Facebook

The motivation of this tourist is not entirely clear – he was, apparently, a tourist. Either he decided to collect a dozen hats for free, or he was outraged by the “mess” in the park and wanted to clean up. Or maybe he was simply the reincarnation of the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland – whatever the case, he broke many rules and caused obvious damage to the ecosystem of the reserve.

Visitor walking across forbidden area in Yellowstone National Park while others stay on boardwalk with steam rising nearby.

Image credits: Anonymous / Facebook

With his actions, the man could’ve damaged the delicate bacterial mats near the park’s Grand Prismatic Spring

The thing is, this guy was slapping his way right through the delicate and fragile bacterial mats near the park’s Grand Prismatic Spring. These are communities of tiny organisms that live in the coastal zones of bodies of water. Once upon a time, billions of years ago, these were the only living beings on Earth, and today they are mostly concentrated around geothermal springs.

Visitor walking across forbidden area at Yellowstone National Park, with tourists and forest in the background under a blue sky.

Image credits: Anonymous / Facebook

These organisms are commonly called “thermophiles” because they grow and reproduce in hot water conditions. They also give the landscape its unique color spectrum, the National Park Service says. In fact, they have changed little over the past billions of years. Such is the living history of life on the planet…

Yellowstone National Park entrance sign with trees and cloudy sky, highlighting concerns about visitors crossing forbidden areas.

Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

But who actually cares about all this if there are abandoned hats lying right under your feet, which you can collect and then sell for a couple of dollars? The original post indicates that the man was walking with a woman along a tourist boardwalk and repeatedly trespassed the restricted area to pick up other hats.

Visitors walking across forbidden area near Yellowstone hot spring, netizens question where the rangers are monitoring safety.

Image credits: James Lee / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

In fact, trespassing into the restricted areas in the national parks is punishable by a fine

Interestingly, if this violator is identified and caught, he faces a hefty fine and even, possibly, jail time. The rules are the same for everyone – even for celebs like actor Pierce Brosnan, who last year was found guilty of entering the protected and potentially dangerous area in Yellowstone. The James Bond star had to pay a $500 fine and make a $1,000 donation to a nonprofit organization affiliated with the national park.

Yellowstone visitor walking across forbidden area sparks outrage among netizens concerned about park ranger enforcement.

Image credits: Nicolasintravel / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Some of the recent violators caught in Yellowstone also got a short term in jail and a ban on visiting national parks

In addition, there are also known cases where violators, trespassing in off-limits areas of the park, were sentenced to 7 and 10 days in jail, respectively, and received a $500 fine and a lifetime ban on attending national parks. The first of these cases, in 2020, was reported by the New York Times, and all the details of the second, dated back to 2021, can be found in the press release by the National Park Service.

Well, people in the comments noted that this guy’s actions not only looked entitled and stupid but also dangerous to his own health and life. After all, by wandering around areas in the park not intended for tourists, he also risked getting thermal burns from hot water and possibly receiving the so-called Darwin award.

“God was trying to remove stupid DNA from the gene pool,” one of the commenters wrote quite sarcastically. Other people simply hoped that these photos would actually help rangers find the offender, and he would be punished for his brazenness and stupidity. So what do you, our dear readers, think about this situation?

Many commenters only laughed at the hapless hat lover, noting that he could’ve gotten thermal burns easily

Social media comment demanding fines and bans for Yellowstone visitors walking across forbidden areas in national parks.

Comment from Glenda Smith expressing concern about safety and environmental damage caused by a Yellowstone visitor in a restricted area.

Comment from social media user questioning lack of signage as Yellowstone visitor walks across forbidden area causing outrage.

Social media comment from Michelle Jensen questioning why people do not obey Yellowstone visitor rules in a forbidden area.

Comment from Linda Marie Harper joking about a Yellowstone visitor walking across a forbidden area, related to Rangers and netizen reactions.

Comment from Nicky Kasp criticizing a Yellowstone visitor for walking across a forbidden area, sparking netizens' outrage.

Screenshot of a social media comment criticizing a Yellowstone visitor walking across a forbidden area, questioning where the rangers are.

Comment by Violet Brown on visitor walking across forbidden area in Yellowstone, discussing animals and bears.

Screenshot of a social media comment expressing frustration about a Yellowstone visitor walking across a forbidden area.

Facebook comment by Kyra Kulfinski Neighbors mentioning seeing rangers with fishing poles amid ranger absence concerns.

Comment by Richard Stoud criticizing a Yellowstone visitor for walking across a forbidden area, sparking outrage online.

Comment from Jim Benson expressing concern over Yellowstone visitor walking across forbidden area risking falling into a soft spot.

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