{"id":15973,"date":"2026-07-28T19:15:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T19:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=15973"},"modified":"2026-07-28T19:15:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T19:15:53","slug":"was-a-man-in-a-bison-costume-arrested-in-yellowstone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=15973","title":{"rendered":"Was a Man in a Bison Costume Arrested in Yellowstone?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"justify-start\">\n<nav class=\"align-left col-span-full mb-base\" data-pom-e2e-test-id=\"breadcrumbs\"\/>\n<p>A trending social media story claims that a 34-year-old man dressed in a homemade bison costume chased tourists in Yellowstone while shouting, \u201cNOW YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS!\u201d But is there any truth to the claim? We asked the National Park Service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\">Yellowstone National Park, USA &#8211; September 1, 2021: tourists enjoy taking photos of a large male bison wandering down the middle of a road<!-- --> (Photo: vermontalm\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published July 28, 2026 12:19PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>A trending social media story claims that rangers at Yellowstone National Park arrested a 34-year-old man for dressing up in a homemade bison costume and chasing tourists while\u00a0shouting, \u201cNow you know how it feels!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At first glance, the story seems somewhat believable, given the long list of tourist antics at America\u2019s oldest national park. But <em>Outside<\/em> has learned that the entire saga is fake. In an email to our newsroom, the National Park Service (NPS) said there was no such report or arrest.<\/p>\n<p>The story was originally posted on July 21 by <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/casperplanet\">Casper Planet<\/a>, a satirical Facebook page, alongside a photo that shows a person wearing a bison head costume. The same photo and caption were then reshared by a number of social media accounts that post content surrounding national parks, such as\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DbTkCr5p3vC\/\">Tourons of Yellowstone<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DbTlWNEt0er\/\">Tourons of National Parks<\/a>. But some <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MakingFriendsWithAngels\/posts\/yellowstone-national-park-park-rangers-arrested-a-34-year-old-man-saturday-after\/37237028692578646\/\">accounts<\/a> shared the post as <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DbRYEmakrSm\/\">authentic<\/a>, and didn\u2019t include the satire disclaimer.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m embarrassed to say that I was initially duped by the fake post, in part because outlandish tourist behavior across national parks\u2014and especially Yellowstone\u2014is happens so frequently.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"fp-remove\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcasperplanet%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02m41p67fnWum5DYSXq3CboHhZvrrWXk2E1Wdu4frJWqHw39jdHBgfiR1xRrUkW94Ml&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"612\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>Bison gore tourists on a seemingly regular basis, visitor vehicles included. It seems that the park simply turns many of us into maniacs.<\/p>\n<p>A quick online search of recent Yellowstone stories includes a\u00a0story about a Texas man who was jailed after damaging Yellowstone\u2019s Mammoth Hot Springs. And that\u2019s just the beginning. In 2024, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/yell\/learn\/news\/24009.htm\">officials fined<\/a> <em>James Bond<\/em> star Pierce Brosnan after he pleaded guilty to walking through a thermal area in Mammoth. That same year, a 21-year-old man from Washington received a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/yell\/learn\/news\/240613-2.htm\">seven-day jail sentence<\/a> for thermal trespass at Steamboat Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin. A 26-year-old woman was sentenced to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-wy\/pr\/connecticut-woman-sentenced-walking-thermal-area-yellowstone-national-park\">seven days in jail<\/a> in 2021 after walking on thermal ground at Norris Geyser Basin. In 2020, officials sentenced <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/yell\/learn\/news\/20001.htm\">two men<\/a> to ten days of incarceration\u2014and a five-year ban from Yellowstone\u2014after the duo trespassed on the cone of Old Faithful Geyser, a closed thermal area.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, the internet is rife with AI-generated content and fake news. Animals on social media are wilder than ever, thanks to artificial intelligence-generated video. There\u2019s also an entire <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_self\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.climbing.com\/culture-climbing\/detect-ai-generated-climbing-content\/\">YouTube channel<\/a> of AI-created climbing accidents.<\/p>\n<p>In a digital world of satirical slander, dancing raccoons, and unbelievable outdoor accidents, sometimes the only way to tell what\u2019s real and fake is to ask the NPS.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe encourage the public and media to verify any information they see online by checking official NPS sources. NPS.gov is our authoritative platform for news releases, safety information, park alerts, and background materials,\u201d an NPS spokesperson told <em>Outside<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most accurate and up\u2011to\u2011date details about parks, programs, and policies can be found on NPS.gov, as well as on our verified social media accounts and those of individual parks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I spent years as a fact-checker before coming to <em>Outside<\/em>. A simple rule of thumb I like to tell folks is: When in doubt, don\u2019t share it out.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"fp-remove\" style=\"border:none;overflow-y:hidden;background-color:white;min-width:320px;max-width:420px;width:100%;height:420px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gaiagps.com\/public\/qjstAEKVmrpgQFnDIo14lJHE\/?embed=True\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><span hidden=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/outdoor-adventure\/environment\/yellowstone-bison-costume-man-arrested-fact-check\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A trending social media story claims that a 34-year-old man dressed in a homemade bison costume chased tourists in Yellowstone while shouting, \u201cNOW YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS!\u201d But is there any truth to the claim? We asked the National Park Service. Yellowstone National Park, USA &#8211; September 1, 2021: tourists enjoy taking photos of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wild-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}