HEY, NATURE BOY :

Gored American faces second charge (BBC, 16 July, 2002)

Criminal charges are pending at a United States national park, after a visitor was gored by a bison.

But it is Paul Jocelyn, who suffered a puncture wound in his right thigh, who is facing a court summons, rather than the bison.

The 37-year-old visitor, from Albertville, Minnesota, faces prosecution for harrassing wildlife, after he allegedly came too near the animal, at Yellowstone National Park.

It is against the law to come within 25 metres of wildlife.

Mr Jocelyn was with a group of visitors, who allegedly went within five metres of the bull bison, as it was grazing near the park's most famous attraction, the Old Faithful Geyser.

He then made the additional mistake of walking around the bison to see if it would raise its head for a photograph.

The bison's response was to pursue Mr Jocelyn into a nearby wood, where it tossed him in the air.

Shortly afterwards, the bison resumed grazing.

You can pretty much bet that this guy considers himself an environmentalist and thinks it's deplorable that people hunt and fish. No experienced hunter would be this stupid--they respect animals rather than fetishize them. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 16, 2002 10:30 PM