wildlife jams
Yellowstone National Park has this advice for people "viewing or photographing roadside animals, whether you are alone or in a wildlife jam:
Park in established turnouts and make sure your car is completely off the paved roadway.
Make sure you put your vehicle into park and engage the parking brake.
If you exit your vehicle, stay near your vehicle so you can get inside if a bear or other wildife approaches.
Avoid being struck by a moving vehicle - do not stand in the roadway to view or photograph wildife.
Never surround, crowd, approach or follow wildlife.
Don't block an animal's line of travel.
Do not run or make sudden movements - this may cause preditors to attack.
If other people in the area are putting you in danger, leave the scene and/or notify a park ranger.
Do not ever feed wildlife, including birds."
Below: putting your flashers on does not give you permission to block the roadway at a bison crossing. Note that this rental motorhome had plenty of space to pull over if the driver had thought to. Note also the traffic conjestion he caused when people needed to drive around him.
 
Below: a moose jam near the entrance to Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton national park. The roadway at this location has plenty of space for cars to pull well off the road. Where there is not enough space, if you choose to park not quite off the roadway and your side mirror is clipped off by a passing motorist, the damage is in part your fault.
Please park at the side of the road only on pavement. Parking on natural vegetation causes permanent damage to plants.
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Read about what may happen before a bison charges at:
your safety in grizzly bear territory
Which animal was that we just saw?
 Rocky Mountain mammal size comparisons
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from the National Park Service daily report Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Three Injured in Accident at Bear Jam
Three park visitors were injured on the evening of June 10th when a vehicle struck them as they were watching two black bears grazing in a meadow near Calcite Springs, approximately one mile from Tower Junction in the northeast section of the park.
Just prior to the accident, a ranger directing traffic at the location noted that a number of visitors had parked their vehicles off to one side of the road, then crossed to the other side to better view the bears. The ranger was in the process of clearing traffic when he glanced behind him and saw an unoccupied white Chrysler PT Cruiser roll away from its parked position, cross both lanes of traffic, plow into the crowd, and continue down a ten-foot embankment.
One victim, a seven-year-old girl, was knocked down, run over, and partially trapped under the vehicle; two other victims – the seven-year-old’s sister (eleven years old) and an older male (age unknown) – were struck and knocked out of the way by the vehicle. Most of the spectators did not see the vehicle coming.
By the time the ranger reached the accident scene, bystanders had moved the seven-year-old out from under the vehicle. The ranger immediately called for assistance. Rangers and staff from throughout the northern portion of the park responded and provided emergency medical care. The two girls were transported by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls for additional care; the man was transported by ambulance to Livingston Memorial Hospital in Livingston. The seven-year old is listed in stable condition; she has two fractured ribs and some difficulty in breathing. Her sister was treated for an injury to her left arm and released. The man received some cuts and lacerations and was also treated and released. Park staff also provided emergency medical care for anxiety to two witnesses at the scene – one of them the owner of the vehicle, the other a woman visitor. Both were treated at the scene and released. [Submitted by Public Affairs]
from the NPS daily report April 12, 2006
Badlands National Park (SD)
Pedestrian Hit By Car, Life Saved
On April 12th, rangers were notified of a vehicle/pedestrian accident at the Yellow Mounds Overlook. Responding personnel determined that a pedestrian had been run over by a motor vehicle and was trapped beneath the vehicle. She was freed and basic life support was begun. A life flight was requested because she kept drifting in and out of consciousness. Air transport was expedited through the use of prearranged landing sites coordinated between the park and life flight. The woman was airlifted and taken to the Rapid City Regional Hospital, where she was treated for head, neck, spine and leg injuries.
Investigators determined that she had stepped out of her vehicle to take several photographs when she noticed that the vehicle was starting to roll. In an attempt to stop the moving vehicle, she reached through the open door to grab the gear shift lever, but was caught by the door and pulled beneath the vehicle. It then came to rest after striking a raised curb, trapping her underneath.
from the NPS daily report September, 2005
Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Fatal Accident on Old River Road
A motor vehicle accident on the afternoon of September 12th claimed the life of John Whatmough, a 32-year-old visitor from Nashua, New Hampshire. The accident occurred on Old Fall River Road approximately one half mile above Chasm Falls.
The preliminary report indicates that Whatmough and his wife got out of the vehicle to take photographs. Their two-and-a-half year old son was in the backseat of the vehicle, restrained in a child safety seat.
The Hyundai began to roll backwards and Whatmough attempted to stop the car by opening the driver’s side door and getting in. The car traveled backwards for 25 feet down a steep, rocky embankment, dragging Whatmough along, before it came to rest. Whatmough sustained multiple traumatic injuries and died at the scene. The child was uninjured. [Submitted by Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]
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Pictures taken at one of the animal jams above are at:
Moose cow and calf, Grand Teton National Park September, 2006
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The number of bear jams increases as a larger bear population equals more bears near roads and trails. The chart below, courtesy of NPS, compares the number of visitors in millions to the number of bear jams each year in Yellowstone:
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