One of the best known markers for Yellowstone National Park is its biodiversity and the amount of animals that inhabit it, as it is protected land. But there is something that may not be going well in the area, as many Social Media users have seen that there are not as many animals as there should be, and that the ones that they see seem to be fleeing the park quite rapidly. There are a few reasons why this could be happening, especially for one or two species, but the videos are showing all types of large mammals moving quickly in the opposite direction of the park, and that usually indicates dangerous things, like volcanic activity imperceptible to humans.
Yellowstone does have one of the best known supervolcanoes, but it has been inactive for decades now and it is showing no signs of waking up, or at least scientists are not ringing any alarms to make residents of the surrounding areas or tourists worry, so while there is a possibility that animals have picked up something that the sensors did not, it is an unlikely scenario. Still, tourists have noticed bison, elk, and even grizzly bears leaving the area and have filmed it for Social Media as proof of the worrying circumstances.
The Yellowstone National Park mass animal exodus, worrisome or normal pattern?
The National Park Service (NPS) has stated that Yellowstone National Park is home to nearly 300 types of birds, 16 species of fish, and 67 different types of mammals, so its biodiversity is quite vast, and as such some animals have overlapping habits that may make some Social Media users think that there is more to a very normal situation than there is.
In one of the most “worrisome” content pieces that has been published on the internet we can see a small group of cougars which appear to be leaving the park together. Scott Whitehead, notable fake poster of these kinds of exodus videos and self-appointed animal expert claimed that between 34 and 42 cougars live in Yellowstone National Park and have begun migrating south toward Utah.
This is not the first time this man has made claims of this nature regarding Yellowstone National Park and the fauna that lives within it, and experts have been debunking his theories for a while now so as to not alarm tourists who are expecting a stampede and instead get business as usual.
Linda Veress, spokesperson for the park service, told ABC that she suspected the videos were AI-generated and “satirical in nature.” And that “Wildlife is not leaving Yellowstone National Park in large numbers. This rumor is false.”
While there are some migrations of animals occurring, these are entirely normal for the time of year and expected by experts, who have stated repeatedly that there is nothing to worry about and that the true portions of the video depict actually natural behavior typical of the season. One of the reasons why it could be a bit more noticeable and enhanced is because this year there has been a spike on tourism to this National Park and the increase in humans in their habitat may have made some animals weary and more prone to moving their habitat.
But the Yellowstone National Park employees are prepared and are tracking behavior patterns in their wildlife to ensure that everything is going well ad that there are the minimum possible disruptions to their lifestyles, and for now, there has been nothing alarming to report.
This is once again a friendly reminder to not believe Social Media content and take it as gospel, as it is quite easy to be fooled by altered footage and people claiming to be experts.
