Resort town near Yellowstone fights reckless behavior with wildlife selfie safety PSA – after grandmother mauled by bison

It is becoming unaffordable.

Jackson, Wyoming, a popular gateway for visits to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park, is testing an innovative new method to combat the ongoing problem of unsuspecting and impact-seeking tourists approaching dangerous wildlife with hoping to create winning social media content.

The Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board has released a tool they’re referring to as the “selfie check,” a new Instagram filter that visitors can download to show themselves posing virtually with wild IRL creatures like bison, elk and bears.

“Grizzles run 35 mph. The people? 8. You do the math,” the organization’s public service announcement said.

The filter itself shows a cybernetic silhouette of animals in the distance, warning: “If the animal is larger than the icon, you are too close!”

Bears, other large animals and “large nesting birds” should only be kept under the length of a football field at 100 yards, according to the agency, while deer, elk and bison should be kept within 25 yards.

These simple, timeless safeguards are increasingly being ignored by those who flock to Wyoming’s western hotspot — the naturally blessed region loved by celebrities ranging from Harrison Ford to Kanye West.

“A lot [tourists] they’re coming without the information to know and understand that these are wild animals, that this is not a zoo and that these animals need space,” board executive director Crista Valentino told ABC News.

Valentino added that there has been a “really big increase” in uncomfortable and dangerous encounters with close-up animals – including families placing their children on the backs of deadly animals for photos.

“If you get between a mother and a baby moose, that mother will very quickly close that gap and protect her little ones,” she warned.

Last June, an 83-year-old woman was viciously mauled by a bison and kicked in the air during a visit to Yellowstone.

The National Park Service commented that the animal was “protecting its space”.

“We’ve all seen the videos on social media: someone gets too close to a bison for a selfie and the next thing you know, they’re in the news with wildlife injuries,” Jackson’s PSA plea said.

Valentino added that in addition to the dangers people face, these careless actions also endanger the lives of animals, which can end up injured and rejected by their herd – and ultimately drowned – after a provoked attack.

“We’re hoping to really see a decline in these negative interactions,” she said.

Outdoor misbehavior isn’t exclusive to national parks either. A woman recently had her hand mauled off by a tiger at a New Jersey zoo after she slipped into its enclosure — similar to the infamous “Lion Queen” who jumped into the King of the Jungle’s habitat at the Bronx Zoo in 2019.