As the camera started rolling last week in the now-closed Yellowstone National Park and reporter Deion Broxton began speaking, he saw something out of the corner of his eye that startled him.

“Oh my God,” he said in a relatively calm but concerned voice.

The TV personality with the local NBC station in Montana then paused and looked from the camera to the scene off-screen and back again.

“Oh, I ain’t messing with you,” he said as he walked out of sight.
“Oh no.
Oh no. Oh no I’m not messing with you.”

Good idea.

The video was just 18 seconds long, but over 11 million people have now watched the footage.

But don’t worry, he’s ok!

It turns out there was a heard of bison headed for him – and that’s not a confrontation you want to see if you can win. (And, to be fair, you’re in their home, so if it looks like you’re an unwelcome guest, you really need to leave.)

Broxton did just that. He quickly picked up his camera and loaded it into the trunk. Then he got the heck out of there, a good, long distance from the wild animals.

Once he was a VERY safe distance away, he used his camera to take some video of the bison – and they were formidable. Male bison can weigh up to 2000 pounds!

While they look docile in the video, in truth, bison can be dangerous animals when provoked (and being provoked can mean a few different things depending on the context).

The animals will butt, gore, and stomp what troubles them, including humans.

In 2015, multiple Yellowstone tourists were chased and gored while trying to get a “selfie” with one of the creatures, even though they were 10 or more feet away from the animals who appeared to just be chewing grass.

What people fail to remember, however, (or fail to read on the posted signs) is that they can get alarmed easily, they will chase, and they can run up to 30 miles an hour. That’s faster than you.

And apparently they don’t like selfies.

In response to the whole incident – which quickly went viral because of Broxton’s hilarious reaction – Yellowstone National Park tweeted about the close encounter – and they said that the reporter did everything right.

That “perfect example of what to do,” by the way, is beating a hasty but careful retreat.

The same day, the National Park Service tweeted about the importance of social distancing – and reminded people that when it came to wild animals, 6 feet was nowhere near enough space (and, frankly, it’s probably not enough space for humans during the coronavirus outbreak either).

“Social distancing means avoiding large gatherings and maintaining distance (6 ft) from others. While we’re at it, remember to keep it at least 300 ft for larger wildlife,” the tweet read.

Thankfully, Broxton AND the bison are all safe. The National Park Service even created a commemorative wildlife safety poster in honor of the whole affair:

Be sure to scroll down below to see Broxton’s hilarious footage.

And remember to ALWAYS give wild animals their distance, especially when our national parks open again and people crowd in after missing the great outdoors.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

There was a herd of bison walking right toward me at @YellowstoneNPS today! pic.twitter.com/sdrBvojpwF

— Deion Broxton KTVM (@DeionNBCMT) March 25, 2020

Source: Deion Broxton KTVM via Twitter, CNN, The Washington Post