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please continue to snatch bison calves and attempt to pet adult bison so that there's less of you around.

Sincerely,

The people with an ounce of common sense.

ha ha ha ha oz

Or they should have taken it to Lamar Valley and released the calf, so the tourists could witness the cycle of life.

Then again, they could have named the calf "Norman" ala City Slickers. How would that work if a wolf or a grizzly bear with a name attacks a buffalo calf with a name? Who do they root for?

Dumb@sses.

Seriously though, this is why these Park Rangers often times seem so overly patronizing and cautious. This is the kind of stupidity they have to deal with.

People think that they're going to have some sort of spiritual connection with a wild animal like they were in "Free Willy" and don't understand that the average wild animal would just as soon see them dead. People are completely disconnected with reality.

Robert Heinlein

I have been to some places where you can truly see and experience wild things. One of the things that always struck me was there were no gates, no fences, no warnings. People just knew, if you go up to edge, and fall off, well, that's your problem.

I'm sitting on a bus in Southern Chile, and two Americans get on-board right away...... "That was so awesome, they should be a fence there in case someone falls down into the river. That trail was muddy and dangerous". Right there I felt like vomiting.

Pretty soon Yellowstone will have a huge fence around and we can all look at the spectacular show from outside the fence like a bunch of convicts looking at fresh meat.

Sorry missed that this had been posted already.

Fletch-Way to turn what could have been a very constructive encounter into a destructive one.

I read first page only, that was enough.

Actually Dave, if you believe that then YOU are part of the problem. I feel like I could have made that a good conversation. Very few people are completely close minded. That woman was interested in what Fletch had to say. In my experience most non-hunters really haven't formed a strong opinion for or against hunting. Most anti-hunters, have been horribly mislead into believing all hunters are bloodthirsty a-holes that only think about one thing-killing. Fletch's comment would have only reinforced that view point. I make a point to engage as many people as possible about hunting. In a crowd of unknowns I do my best to bring up hunting in as non-threatening a way as possible just to see what happens. I try to bring wild game to BBQ's and bring extra for people to try. They immediately see the personal benefit of hunting. I have had lots of conversations with actual antis about hunting. I am always amazed how many antis have really never had a conversation with an actual hunter about hunting. They have never been presented with the facts about hunting and have never been told the benefits of hunting and hunting money on the environment. A lot of hunters have a really bad habit of "rubbing people's noses" in hunting. This approach to try to make the anti-hunter queasy or angry or whatever, does nothing but drive a wedge deeper between hunting and the anti/non hunters. If I am not mistaken, something like 5% of the population hunts. It seems, at least to me, that efforts are being made to systematically phase out hunting. Personally, I think we could use all the acceptance we can get. Yes, there will always be people whose minds are made up, but let them be the close minded, a-holes. All you need to do is make them doubt themselves.

This was one of many interactions with this woman, I know her and her way of thinking and she is a wayward animal lover. She's the type that will interfere with nature any chance she feels that she can "help". Her idea of "helping" is she goes on searches for "lost fawns" or "orphaned fawns"...I've caught her twice with a fawn in a blanket as she's exiting the woods on the way to the local vet. She told me they were all alone in the brush and their mother was no where to be found...I tried to explain to her why this was on a few occasions, but that apparently never sunk in. I also saw her once with the staff from the vet's office, returning a fawn to where she found it. She's told me of an instance when she tried to catch a coyote that was acting "off" to bring it to the vet...I explained why this was a bad idea. So there's history here and anything I say/said was not changing her actions. The only time I'll interact again is if these examples above come to pass in the future.

Generally, I talk up the benefits of hunting and shed a positive light on the sport with the majority of people I talk to. And whether receptive or not, most people like to hear the stories...especially the things I see while out hunting that most people don't get to see.

My apologies for creating a bit of an argument here.

Dave-Having dealt with your style of "I'm right, you're wrong" arguing before, I expect that most people you talk to just want to get out of the conversation by any means necessary.

"They're too ignorant and stupid to objectively listen..."

It probably wouldn't hurt to take a look in the mirror right about now. Maybe you should try to listen sometime. You're responses always ooze your disdain for those that don't agree 100% with you. You might find a little empathy and respect can go a long ways. Start as an enemy and you'll probably stay an enemy.

At this point I couldn't care less what terrible candidate people choose to vote for, but I am concerned how people view hunting and I will try hard to convince every non and anti hunter, willing to engage in a conversation, that hunting is a vital aspect of environmental health. And I will do it in a polite respectful manner.