Federal authorities are cracking down on Yellowstone National Park visitors getting too close to wildlife/NPS file
An Illinois woman landed a four-day jail sentence, plus fines, for getting too close to a grizzly in Yellowstone National Park for a photo.
Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Murray announced Thursday that Samantha R. Dehring, 25, of Carol Stream, Illinois, pleaded guilty to willfully remaining, approaching, and photographing wildlife within 100 yards. Another count, feeding, touching, teasing, frightening, or intentionally disturbing wildlife, was dismissed.
Dehring appeared in front of Magistrate Judge Mark L. Carman in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming, on Wednesday for her change of plea and sentencing hearing. She was sentenced to four days in custody, one-year unsupervised probation, and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, a $1,000 community service payment to Yellowstone Forever Wildlife Protection Fund, a $30 court processing fee and a $10 assessment. Dehring also received a one-year ban from Yellowstone National Park.
She could have been sentenced to a year in jail and fined $10,000.
According to the violation notices, Dehring was at Roaring Mountain in Yellowstone on May 10, 2021, when visitors noticed a sow grizzly and her three cubs. While other visitors slowly backed off and got into their vehicles, Dehring remained. She continued to take pictures as the sow bluff charged her.
“Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are, indeed, wild. The park is not a zoo where animals can be viewed within the safety of a fenced enclosure. They roam freely in their natural habitat and when threatened will react accordingly,” said Murray in a release. “Approaching a sow grizzly with cubs is absolutely foolish. Here, pure luck is why Dehring is a criminal defendant and not a mauled tourist.”
According to Yellowstone National Park regulations, when an animal is near a trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, give it space. Stay 25 yards (23 m) away from all large animals - bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes and at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves. If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal in close proximity
Comments
It doesn't seem like the crime fit the punishment in this case. How about a $100 ticket. Jail time really?
Yes really! Kudos to those brave individuals who enforce the laws that protect the two legged and four legged species.
How many articles have we read where people who did physical damage to a park recieved a ticket and a tresspass from the park. The worst this woman did was to put her own life in danger. She didn't even feed the animal. At most parks feeding bears, which is to say endangering them, warrants a ticket.
Never get between a US Attorney and a microphone.
I gotta disagree with the jail time. Community service and a fine should have been sufficient and proper. Don't get me wrong. Approaching wildlie is stupid, and dangerous for both the wildlife and the visitor. But come on! How many times do we see visitors approaching too closely to wildlife, no matter which wildlife? Daily, and by the score, is the honest answer. The fact that the bear took umbrage at her and half-heartedly bluffed charged is the reason she was convicted. Had the bear ignored her nothing would have been done other than perhaps an educational warning by a ranger if one had been present. if anyone thinks this lady's conviction will have a deterrant effect on others, it won't.
I live just outside the Great Smoky Mountains NP and I have both seen and heard about people doing this very thing as if bears very pets instead of wild animals! Numerous people have been hurt doing this and even when the people aren't actually hurt, if the bear becomes aggressive, the bear is euthanized! To kill the bear for doing what is only natural, in the bears own home is wrong when we, the interloper, are in the wrong!