Man pleads guilty and is fined following death of Yellowstone bison calf

A visitor to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming pleaded guilty to a federal charge and was fined after he helped a bison calf, which was later euthanized after its herd rejected it, officials said.

Clifford Walters, of Hawaii, pleaded guilty to one count of feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or intentionally disturbing wildlife, the U.S. attorney's office for Wyoming said.

He was ordered to pay around $1,000 in a fine and payment to the park's wildlife fund, the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement.

On May 20, Walters helped a newborn bison calf out of the Lamar River after the animal became separated from its herd, the National Park Service said.

But the herd rejected the calf, which can happen when humans interfere with wildlife, according to the park.

Staff members killed the calf because it was abandoned and because it was "causing a hazardous situation by approaching cars and people along the roadway," the park said in a statement.

Nothing to indicate he had acted maliciously

There was nothing to indicate Walters acted maliciously, federal prosecutors said.

Walters represented himself, court records show. He declined to comment Wednesday.

Yellowstone has explained its decision to euthanize the calf instead of send it to a sanctuary or care for it by saying state and federal regulations prohibit transferring bison out of Yellowstone except for scientific research or meat processing.

The park also said that it is there to preserve natural processes and that it is not a zoo. It said that as many of 25% of bison calves born this spring will die but that they will benefit other animals by feeding them.

"Allowing this cycle of life to play out aligns most closely with the stewardship responsibility entrusted to us by the American people. Unfortunately, the calf’s behavior on roads and around people was hazardous, so rangers had to intervene: but the calf’s body was left on the landscape," it said.

Park officials have stressed that visitors should give wildlife space by staying at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves and at least 25 yards away from other animals.

The sentence handed down for Walters included a $500 fine and a $500 payment to Yellowstone's wildlife protection fund, the U.S. attorney's office said.