A tourist is facing federal charges for disturbing grizzly bears in their natural habitat.

Per ABC News, 25-year-old Samantha R. Dehring, who hails from Carol Stream in Illinois, willingly endangered herself and several animals at Yellowstone Park on May 10.

Dehring risked life and limb when walking through Roaring Mountain, and attempted to get up close and personal to a grizzly bear and her cubs, in order to snap a quick picture.

A video shot by another tourist showed Dehring standing roughly 15 feet from a grizzly, taking a photo of the animal with her cellphone.

Although she backed away only after the bear briefly charged at her and then retreated, other bears nearby appeared to be startled by the encounter, and then ran off into the forest.

The footage was shared with Yellowstone Park Rangers, who later provided the results of their investigation to U.S. Rangers in the area where Dehring lives.

Take a look at this video of the incident right here:

These rangers then served Dehring with the violation notices, and she was ordered to appear before a magistrate judge in Mammoth Hot Spring, Wyoming, on August 26.

There, she answered charges of willfully remaining, approaching, and photographing wildlife within 100 yards, as well as feeding, touching, teasing, frightening, or intentionally disturbing wildlife.

Dehring now faces up to a year in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.

This isn't the first time a visitor was caught someone getting close to wild animals.

In June, a 17-year-old girl named Hailey Morinico was captured on film driving a black bear away from her beloved dogs.

The shocking incident was captured on a surveillance camera and later uploaded to TikTok by Morinico's cousin.

Commenting on the incident in a later interview with NBC Los Angeles, Morinico stated: "I was like 'Oh my God, there’s a bear, and it is taking my dog. It is lifting her up off the ground.

"The dog that the bear grabbed; she's the baby. I have to protect the baby."

Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Maciej Bledowski

Well, here's some weird news for you: A shirtless man filmed grunting like a gorilla to terrorize a bear at Yellowstone national park may face jail time. That doesn't sound bear-y nice.

The yet-to-be-identified clout chaser is potentially facing jail time and a whopping $5,000 fine for harassing the park's resident bears, which subsequently went viral online.

Yellowstone Park Service spokeswoman Linda Veress told Cowboy State Daily: "We're aware of these videos and are investigating."

Footage of the stunt was posted to Tourons of Yellowstone on Instagram - the name cheekily derived from combining the words "tourist" and "moron" - which publishes images and videos of people harassing animals in the national park in order to shame them.

In the clip the man parked his car near a black bear in a grassy area as his friend sat in the passenger seat and filmed. He then gets out and runs at the animal while grunting like a gorilla, causing the animal to get startled and run away... All while the camera guy laughs hysterically. Yeah, real funny...

Oh, but it's not over yet. The tourist tears off his shirt, flexes his muscles, and lets out a triumphant roar. Then, the video cuts to the same man harassing another bear in the woods.

Yellowstone authorities have stated that they saw the clips and are investigating the incident, which have the potential to land the offender in jail. "The charge in an incident like this would be a Class B misdemeanor with up to six months in jail and $5,000 fine. The charge/s could include for example disturbing wildlife, disorderly conduct (create/maintain a hazardous condition), and/or approaching wildlife," Veress said.

A black bear pictured at Yellowstone National Park. Credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty.

The National Park Service website warns potential visitors on safety guidelines to abide by, which includes a warning to never approach wildlife. "The animals in Yellowstone are wild and unpredictable, no matter how calm they appear to be. The safest (and often best) view of wildlife is from inside a car," the site says.

It also adds that visitors should "stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves," and to remain in or near their car when "viewing bears along roads."

Though, despite all the warnings, reports of visitors harassing animals at national parks are nothing new. In fact, earlier this month authorities in Wyoming were on the hunt for two people who allegedly approached and harassed a bison calf at a national park in the picturesque state, ABC News reported.

The incident occurred at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming earlier this month, when two people were seen "approaching and touching a bison calf at the southern end of Elk Ranch Flats in Grand Teton National Park," according to a statement from the National Park Service describing the encounter.

Featured image credit: Robert Alexander/Getty

Tourists have found themselves in a near-death situation after coming into contact with a group of bison during their hikes.

Now, it's pretty common knowledge that if you come into contact with any wild animal, let alone a 2000lbs bison, leave it alone.

However, in this day and age, it seems as though people's need to capture the moment is more pressing than their personal safety, so much so that they would risk their lives just to get a low-quality selfie with the animal.

But the consequences of the situation can be dire, as some tourists discovered at Yellowstone National Park.

Shocking footage uploaded to the Instagram account TouronsOfYellowstone showed multiple instances of different tourists pushing their luck at the hiking trail after coming into contact with the brutish animal.

In one video which was posted to the account on May 21, you can clearly see a woman reaching out toward a bison while the group she was with watched the entire ordeal. Within a split second, the wild beast lunges forward almost as if it was going to attack her, which sent her running away immediately.

Her friends also move away from it, as she stumbles in a different direction.

The caption on the post read: "The consequences of a bison selfie attempt! Always be bison aware‼️"

People in the comments weren't at all surprised at the tourist's ill-advised actions, with many wondering "how humans have survived this long as a species..."

Credit: Instagram Credit: Instagram

In a separate video, another fearless (or silly, depending on the way you want to look at it) woman approached a bison that was grazing on some grass in an attempt to take a selfie. And while the animal remained peaceful and seated, onlookers told the account that the tourist had "infuriated" them due to her "arrogance."

"Queen Touron of Yellowstone," read the caption of this video posted on Sunday. "Sighted at Biscuit Basin. She was trying to pet it. It was insane. Like inches. Her arrogance was so infuriating. People were telling her to move away and she kept posing for like 10 minutes."

And of course, social media users weren't forgiving to this unidentified woman either with some even wishing there were more serious consequences for her actions including being "trampled" or "arrested."

Credit: Instagram

According to the official National Park Service website, there are four rules that visitors must follow in order to protect themselves as well as those around them including never approaching or feeding wildlife, staying on boardwalks and trails in thermal areas and never parking in the road or blocking traffic.

They also added that bison are one of the main causes of injuries at Yellowstone given the fact that they are "unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans."

"Always stay at least 25 yards (23 m) away from bison," officials warned.

Other wild animals that hikers can come into contact with during their hike at the National Park include wolves, elk and bears.

Stay safe out there, folks!

Featured Image Credit: Jonathan Mast / Unsplash

Three tourists who were filmed taking selfies and getting close to feeding brown bears in the wild have been jailed and handed fines.

The incident took place at Brooks Falls - a waterfall located within Katmai National Park - in the Summer of 2018.

The park implements rules that state humans have to stay on the viewing platform which is elevated and looks out across the water. From that area, tourists can get full viewing access to the bears.

There are also clear regulations against the wildlife or getting too close to the animals, however, prosecutors say three men - David Engelman, 56, Ronald Engelman II, 54, and Steven Thomas, 30 - ignored those rules.

Check out the clip below:

Per KTOO, the incident caused outrage and prosecutors said the group walked into Brooks River. One of the men, Engelman, was caught on a livestream camera taking a selfie in front of the bears.

The men were eventually recognized by the National Park Service Investigative Services after the livestream was being broadcast live on Youtube. According to a National Park Service spokesperson, the men were also later identified via security footage from a local bar.

On Monday, all three men were fined a total of $9,000, given jail time and a year of probation. David and Ronald Engelman were sentenced to one week in prison, while Steven received a 10-day sentence.

According to News.com.au, Magistrate Judge Matthew Scoble described the three men's actions as "drunken capering and a slap in the face to those who were there".

Katmai National Park and Preserve's superintendent Mark Sturm interjected and said: "These individuals behaved carelessly and put themselves at great risk. Brown bears are fierce, territorial predators, especially when concentrated in order to feed on migrating salmon."

Brown Bears at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park and Preserve. Credit: NPS Photo / Alamy.

Lawyer S.Lane Tucker stated that the actions of the three men not only endangered other visitors and wildlife officers but also "potentially endangered the life of the bears".

Tucker also argued that if the incident resulted in death or injury, it would have an immense impact on the park's tourism and animals.

Fines would go towards the Katmai Conservancy, a non-profit that looks after the running of the park and works for the day when the park and all public lands are understood, preserved, and conserved.

In addition, each defendant is banned from entering any national park for one year.

Featured image credit: Stephen Adams / Alamy.

Part of the fun of going to wildlife reserves is not just seeing nature in all its glory, but having the chance to encounter animals in their natural habitat - free (mostly) of human interference or the confined spaces of zoos. That way you can get to see some of the fine flora and fauna of this Earth, without feeling bad about negatively affecting their lives in any way.

However, there are some people out there who push the boundaries. National parks tend to have rules in place, but they're hard to enforce if a random tourist wants to get as close as possible to the action. For instance, in Yellowstone National Park, there are clear guidelines on how near you are allowed to get to certain creatures, but not everyone follows their advice.

Just last year, there were two incidents of bisons attacking visitors to the park. In May, one woman was walking around the bend of a trail when she was hit by a bison she hadn't seen, getting away with minor injuries. The following month, another woman was gored by a bull bison when she got within ten yards of it - while the suggested safe distance is considered to be around 25 yards, or 7t feet, for this particular animal.

"Animals in Yellowstone are wild and unpredictable, no matter how calm they appear to be," the park's guidelines state. "Give animals space when they're near trails, boardwalks, parking lots, or in developed areas. If you can't maintain these distances, turn around and find an alternate route."

Well, not everyone is so keen to follow these rules. In fact, in this case, the problem was less that someone got close to a bison, but that they actively taunted the aggravated animal. One man got up close to stare down a bison in the middle of a road, surrounded by traffic. The creature was mostly disinterested, but was quickly angered once the man pounded his chest and approached it.

Lindsey Jones was driving through the park with her family when she saw the cars slow to a stop on this road, as a bison wandered through the area. When she saw the man get out of his car to taunt the bison, she used her phone to film the ridiculous act. Jones posted the clip on Facebook, where it has since been viewed more than a million times.

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The bison charges him, but this isn't enough to get the man to back down, as he gets back to taunting the bison once more. As it began its second charge, you can hear Jones exclaim, "Oh god, I can't watch anymore!"

Another person in the car can be heard shouting at the man to "Get out of there!" Eventually the bison, luckily for the man, loses interest and turns away from him. If things had ended up any differently, he only would've had himself to blame.