Stories from records of the National Park System

.... clever creatures

A visitor to Glacier National Park in Montana lost his car
keys while attempting to lure a ground squirrel by dangling
the keys out in front of the critter. The squirrel grabbed the
keys and ran down a hole with them. The keys were never
retrieved, a ranger cited the man for harassment of wildlife,
and a locksmith was called to make new car keys.


.... putting our loved ones at risk for a photo

In May of 1994, Tony Moore, 43, of Marietta, Georgia, was
gored and seriously injured by a large male bison in
Yellowstone, next to the Lake Hotel. Moore and a friend had
approached to within 15 feet of the bison to have their
pictures taken. While they were standing with their backs to
the animal, it charged. Moore's companion escaped, but Moore
received a severe puncture wound in his right thigh and was
taken by ambulance to a hospital in Jackson for treatment.


.... watching for falling rocks

A visitor setting up camp at Lake Eleanor in Yosemite National
Park hit herself on the head with a rock while trying to
string up her food to protect it from bears.


.... requesting assistance

In 1994, a woman visiting from the Bay Area embarked on a solo
hike to the summit of El Capitan in Yosemite. When she became
lost and saw a storm brewing, she called 911 from her cellular
phone and asked to be rescued. A helicopter found her barely
off the trail and one-fourth to half a mile from the top of El
Cap. When the 'copter lifted off and the woman saw how close
she was to her summit goal, she asked the crew to set her down
on top. When the crew declined, she threatened to sue them for
kidnapping.


... caring for the creatures

A woman, appearing rather distraught, came into the visitor
center at Redwood National Park in California to report that
she had seen several Irish setters lying along the edge of the
highway and she feared they were dead or injured. Rangers
explained to her that these were pieces of redwood bark that
had fallen off logging trucks.

.... back-seat driving, as always

When an elderly couple stopped to film some bears at Dunraven
Pass in Yellowstone, a young bear crawled into their car
searching for food. Unable to make the bear leave, the
exasperated (but well-dressed) couple drove about 17 miles to
the ranger station at Canyon Village with the bear in the
backseat. When the husband got out to report the incident, the
bear hopped over into the front seat so that investigating
rangers found the woman in the passenger seat and the bear
behind the wheel.

.... all tuckered out from our day hikes

In 1993 a woman called 911 from the top of Half Dome using her
cellular phone. According to dispatch, she reported: "Well,
I'm at the top and I'm really tired." The answering ranger
asked if she felt sick. "No," she said, "I'm just really tired
and I want my friends to drive to the base and pick me up."
The dispatcher explained that she would have to hike down the
trail she had ascended. The visitor replied, "But you don't
understand, I'm really tired." What happened next? "It
turned out we got really lucky," the ranger said, "her phone
battery died."

... taking mementos home with us

Each year visitors to Petrified Forest National Park in
Arizona pocket an estimated 12 tons of petrified wood to take
home (despite numerous warnings not to take wood and the fact
that this criminal violation carries a minimum fine of $275).
Some years back, several female foreign visitors, clad only
in bikinis, were observed hiding wood in their garments.
Another time, rangers received a report that a man had put a
large piece of wood in his car. Upon searching his vehicle,
they found a 40-pound piece of petrified wood in his trunk.
According to rangers, this visitor said he didn't know how it
got there. "My four-year-old son must have put it in there,"
the man said.

.... ever alert to terrorism

A group of European visitors came into the Wawona ranger
station in Yosemite National Park and said, "Our car is parked
at the trail head and it's been blown up by terrorists."
Though rangers expressed some doubt, the visitors insisted
that a bomb had exploded in their car and that they could see
powder residue from the explosives. Investigating rangers
indeed found that a door had been torn off and a powder-like
substance--pancake flour--was strewn about the car. "They were
quite embarrassed when we showed them the bear prints," the
ranger said.

... ignoring the sage advice of rangers

A camper at Long Pine Key in Everglades National Park decided
to take a dip in the lake with her dog despite signs saying
"No Swimming -- Danger -- Alligators." She swam to an island
about 75 yards from the shore, then saw some alligators and
refused to swim back. "Didn't you see the signs?" asked the
ranger who retrieved her in a canoe. "Sure," she said, "but I
didn't think they applied to me."

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