[ek_hornbeck]

I'm amazed by how many people think that wild animals are just big cute pets or playthings that enjoy close contact with people. Every year several morons at Yellowstone get gored trying to pet or ride on bison or elk, or trying to get chummy with bears. We're seeing the same thing with these Pacific coast elk.

It's as though their understanding of wildlife comes from watching Saturday morning cartoons.

[Pontiac]

I'm amazed by how many people think that wild animals are just big cute pets or playthings that enjoy close contact with people.

I am not at all amazed.

The entertainment industry has been anthropomorphizing animals for about 80 years.

That and most people in developed countries have been divorced from the land for generations. Most people have never been close to a farm animal let alone a wild animal in their lives.

Pets comprise most people's entire experience with animals. Even if they have watched an occasional documentary on wild animals, those infotainment shows will never show a true violent interaction of an animal and a human.

Modern man has been basically brainwashed into believing that wild animals and humans can have casual, friendly interactions or a regular basis.

The internet has made this process immeasurably worse with videos showing bears and other large animals bringing their injured young to humans for help.

If this ever really happens it is extremely rare and the animal in question was probably raised by humans (socialized to humans).

This brainwashing has caused severe injuries and death to those affected with this ignorance and indoctrination.

The people that try to get selfies with bison and bears are just too stupid to live and are trying to hard for those Darwin Awards.