We live in the narcissistic “selfie” era.
This is just a continuing trend from when the parks opened. A significant number of city/suburban folks have lived a bubble wrapped life and only know animals from movies/TV/internet.
If you look back to a hundred years ago, you will find equally stupid things occurring. The Wiki article on Yellowstone notes:
“The feeding of “tame” black bears was popular with tourists in the early days of the park, but led to 527 injuries between 1931 and 1939.”
The difference now is the volume of visitors, not the stupidity of human beings.
Most people think the rules do not apply to them. Post a sign with policies or requirements for something and you will be ignored or asked “does this apply to me???”
I live near a national park and have watched idiot tourist get out and try and feed black bears which is a death sentence for the bear eventually as they come to depend on humans for food and lose their fear of them or for the Darwin award candidate tourist depending on the bears mood at the moment and the tourists actions.
I have watched these fools get out and surround a coiled rattlesnake rattling profusely and them eww and awww! I drive by and see the event and roll the window down and suggest to these brain trusts, you might want to leave this fellow along that rattle means you are pissing him off, back off and if he bites you, you can die. Only to get a blinking duh boy look in response. I drove off and left them to their fate.
All that being said, most park employees are pretty nice with one exception, Park Rangers for the most part they are the biggest Aholes around. Arrogant, it’s “OUR PARK PEASANT” attitudes. The locals get along well with regular park employees but wouldn’t piss on a Ranger if they were on fire. The park usually brings in a yankee or someone not from this area and they come in with a preconceived notion about the locals and come off as pure butt holes and that feeling is reciprocated by the locals. The other park employees know how the Rangers act and can’t do anything about it but apologize for their behavior.