Man Arrested for Making Bison Charge Him at Yellowstone National Park

An Oregon man was arrested on Aug. 2 for harassing a bison at Yellowstone National Park days earlier.

In a video posted on Facebook, Raymond Reinke of Oregon can be seen pursuing a bison in traffic. The bison momentarily steps off the roadway, but Reinke ushers the bison back towards him as he stands amidst the traffic jam. The bison charges but he evades the charge.

The footage of Reinke getting charged multiple times by the bison went viral on social media. The video has 8.5 million views, 128,000 shares, and 13,000 comments at the time of writing.

Reinke was traveling between multiple national parks, allegedly causing disturbances in three separate incidents that involved law enforcement, according to a press release from the National Park Service.

He was first arrested on July 28 at Grand Teton National Park where he spent a night in jail for drunken and disorderly conduct before his release on bond.

On July 31 he was stopped by park rangers for a traffic violation in Yellowstone National Park. He appeared to be intoxicated and argumentative. Rangers cited him as a passenger for failure to wear a seatbelt.

Authorities said that after that incident, they were alerted by other visitors that a man was harassing wildlife. They found Reinke later that evening and issued a citation.

The video of the crime emerged after the citation was issued. After connecting Reinke’s incidents, and seeing the wildlife violation, the Assistant U.S. Attorney canceled Reinke’s bond and issued a warrant for his arrest.

Authorities found Reinke at Glacier National Park, when rangers received a call about an argument in the dining room of a hotel. Reinke happened to be involved in the argument.