A man who picked up a bison calf in Yellowstone National Park caused it to be shunned by its herd, prompting park officials to kill the animal rather than allow it to be a hazard to visitors.
Park officials defended the decision to kill the newborn bison.
“We made the choice we did not because we are lazy, uncaring or inexpert in our understanding of bison biology,” the park said in a statement on Twitter. “We made the choice we did because national parks preserve natural processes.”