I heard a park ranger say once “There is an overlap between the smartest animals and the dumbest people.”

This does happen fairly often at Yellowstone, so it's not widely reported when it does. It actually happened very close to me when I was there last year because a bison was laying very near a popular walkway near old faithful, but people still didn't stop walking by it 🙃

I visited Yellowstone last year. The National Parks Service has an excellent walkway system which allows visitors to get an close-up view of the hot springs. All along the walkways are signs that say something along the lines of: “Step off this walkway and you will be boiled alive.”

The sheer number of people visiting these areas on an average day, and the quality of workmanship put into the park walkways projects a false sense of security. A few times I had to remind myself that I was standing above something that could kill me. Imagine being in a crowd of people seeing and experiencing something beautiful. Nobody there is unhappy, everyone is strolling along taking pictures and enjoying spectacular views of the hot springs. But in reality, it is a bunch of people standing on heat-resistant walkways above boiling lakes of death.

These warning signs are placed every few feet, but I can completely understand how idiots and children would ignore them and get themselves killed. Some walkways have railings, others don’t. Yellowstone is one of the most beautiful places on earth. The possibility of getting killed is not something actively going through your mind while you experience it.

Also, people taking photos of bison are incredibly cavalier about distance and safety. It makes sense that attacks and deaths are common enough not to make headlines.

I feel like this has happened several times in the last year

Been to Yellowstone many times. People don't understand that the Bison look friendly almost looks as if you could pet them.

But they are aggressive and will kill you stay the fuck away.

Yet this does happen every year.

Selfie time!

Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with you there. The likelihood of it being a complete freak occurrence is slim to none. Call me a pessimist.

The end of the article does say its mating season though, so there may have been other factors at play. Animals tend to be pretty high strung, for lack of a better term, during mating season.

Just gotta be quicker than a wild animal. How hard could it be. /s

From the article:

Last month, the NPS put out warnings following a string of human encounters with Yellowstone wildlife that were going viral on social media.
In one video posted in May, a woman was seen getting close to a bison and taking a selfie, which park officials said was dangerous given the animal's unpredictable movements and actions. The agency noted that bison can run three times faster than humans.

Taking a selfie with a bison is one of the dumbest things a person can ever do lol.

I know what you mean, but I'd lay a dollar that these people aren't from the city. More likely suburbs, exurbs, small town, etc.

People who live in cities tend to understand danger and avoid it. If somebody is like, "that street gets dangerous past X block, and you're likely to get mugged or worse" you don't go there. Same principle as a wild animal.