Yellowstone tourist who put bison calf in back of his car fined $110

A Canadian man who put a bison calf in the back of his car at Yellowstone National Park has been fined $110.

Shamash Kassam and his son put the bison calf in the back of their SUV because they thought it looked cold.

Shocked park rangers repeatedly attempted to reunite the calf with its herd, but their efforts failed and the calf was later euthanised.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports that Yellowstone officials issued Kassam with a fine for disturbing wildlife, and reports that Kassam said he understood what he did was wrong and wouldn’t do it again.

Kassam said the calf was alone and wet and shivering and that the animal appeared to be seeking warmth from the car engine.

In a statement, Yellowstone National Park officials said: “Interference by people can cause mothers to reject their offspring.

“In this case, park rangers tried repeatedly to reunite the newborn bison calf with the herd. These efforts failed. The bison calf was later euthanised because it was abandoned and causing a dangerous situation by continually approaching people and cars along the roadway.”

The calf could not have been relocated due to disease risks to other herds.

In a statement on its Facebook page, Yellowstone officials said: “In order to ship the calf out of the park, it would have had to go through months of quarantine to be monitored for brucellosis. No approved quarantine facilities exist at this time, and we don't have the capacity to care for a calf that's too young to forage on its own. Nor is it the mission of the National Park Service to rescue animals: our goal is to maintain the ecological processes of Yellowstone.

“Even though humans were involved in this case, it is not uncommon for bison, especially young mothers, to lose or abandon their calves. Those animals typically die of starvation or predation.”