An American man has been jailed for 130 days after he was videotaped harassing a bison last month in Yellowstone National Park while drunk, even though he offered an apology to the wild animal in court.
Raymond Reinke, 55, of Oregon, was arrested earlier this month after the video surfaced on the internet. It showed him waving his arms and running toward the bison, which initially ignored him but then charged. The bison turned away after Reinke retreated.
“I’m sorry to the buffalo. He didn’t deserve what I did to him. I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to hurt that buffalo,” he said in federal court, where he faced four charges of misconduct in national parks, ABC FOX Montana reported.
According to a news release by Yellowstone, Reinke was arrested trying to enter Glacier National Park after the authorities linked him to previous incidents involving drunkenness and harassing wildlife.
“You chased and hounded the bison. You’re lucky the bison didn’t take care of it, and you’re standing in front of me,” presiding Judge Mark Carmon said.
He ordered Reinke to serve 60 days in jail for harassing wildlife, 60 days for interfering with law enforcement and 10 days for disorderly conduct, with 21 days taken off for time served. He will also have to undergo five years of unsupervised probation without taking drugs or alcohol, and have treatment for his drug and alcohol dependencies.