Man Arrested After Being Caught on Camera Harassing Bison

Man Arrested After Being Caught on Camera Harassing Bison

55-year-old Oregon resident, Raymond Reinke, was caught on camera harassing a bison in Yellowstone National Park and has finally been arrested after his third disturbance in the park this month.  On the video, which quickly went viral after being posted by an onlooker, Reinke is shown jumping around in halted traffic, dancing in front of a roughly 6-foot-tall bison and dodging as the creature cautiously charges as if warning him to stop.  “Oh God no, no—I can’t watch,” the person filming says in shock while the man grunts and flexes his arms before the beast and it responds by heading towards him.  Reinke eventually walks away and the bison peruses between the other vehicles while camera owner shouts, “Oh no, now he’s mad.  Now he’s going to be mad!”

Reinke was discovered at the historic Many Glacier Hotel in Montana Park.  He was originally arrested and cited for drunken and disorderly conduct, released from jail after posting a $500 bond pending a hearing.  The court issued the stipulation that he was to follow the law and avoid drinking alcohol altogether.

Three days after this release, however, Yellowstone rangers cited Reinke again for not wearing a seat belt while driving, noting he appeared drunk behind the wheel.  They indicated in the report he was “intoxicated and argumentative.”  The Rangers were not aware of Reinke’s bond conditions at the time of the incident.

After the video was released and went viral on social media, an assistant U.S. attorney took note and asked that the man’s bond be revoked, issuing a warrant for his arrest.  In the interim, Rangers receive a report about two guests creating a disturbance at the hotel.  They were arguing loudly, and Reinke was discovered inside.  Rangers took action, noting the warrant and handcuffing Reinke on the spot.  He was transported back to jail and has requested a court-appointed attorney to represent him at his hearing.

As law enforcement looked further into Reinke’s background, they discovered he wasn’t just found misbehaving at Yellowstone, either.  The tourist was arrested for drunken indecency and spent the night in jail in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming last month, on July 28th. It seems he’d been caught embarking on some sort of twisted crime spree, paying visits to national wildlife parks and seeing how far he could get with harassing the animals without being killed.  Luckily, his plan was short-lived and there were no injuries along the way.

“We need people to be stewards of Yellowstone, and one way to do that is to keep your distance from wildlife,” explained Dan Wenk, the superintendent of the national park.  Rangers warn visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from bison, which can be found roaming the grounds, in order to avoid injury…or worse.  These creatures can weigh more than 1,000 pounds and easily tower over humans, making any taunting of the animal nothing short of grossly reckless behavior which could result in death.

Most tourists stay inside their vehicles as the animals pass by, capturing photos on a camera and keeping their distance.  Apparently, Reinke is just not most people.

Sources:

MAN FROM VIRAL BISON VIDEO ARRESTED FOR NATIONAL PARK CRIME SPREE

Oregon man who harassed Yellowstone bison arrested at differnt national park