A reporter for NBC Montana has gained social media fame for his hilarious – and wise – reaction during a close bison encounter inside Yellowstone National Park.
“Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh no… I ain’t messing with you,” Deion Broxton says in the accompanying footage, after noticing the advancing herd and before ducking for cover behind the crew vehicle. “Oh no. I’m not messing with you.”
Bison do not appear in the footage Broxton tweeted Wednesday, which was later shared to Facebook by NBC News Montana (both clips were widely circulated). But Broxton later tweeted a clip of several bison he caught on video “once I got a safe distance away.”
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It’s worth noting that bison, which can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds, are the largest land mammals in North America. They’re not typically aggressive toward humans, but they’re wild and unpredictable, and warrant a wide berth.
The footage was shared to Facebook by Yellowstone National Park, which wrote: “A perfect example of what to do when approached by wildlife! Thanks Deion for putting the Yellowstone pledge into action!”
Part of the pledge, requested of all park visitors, is to treat wild animals with respect by giving them distance and staying out of their way.
Yellowstone, which incorporates portions of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, has been in the news after announcing that it was closing indefinitely because of COVID-19 pandemic.
–Image showing Deion Broxton is used with the permission of NBC Montana; bison image is courtesy of ©Pete Thomas