New Instagram filter tells you when you’re too close to wildlife

To protect animals and people on public land, the National Park Service advises visitors to stay at least 25 or 100 yards away from the wildlife, depending on the species. The distance can be difficult to measure, especially if you are behind a camera. A new Instagram filter created by the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board in Wyoming removes the guesswork and helps ensure a safe encounter between photographer and subject.

Shortly before the busy summer season, the Western destination’s tourism office released a filter called Selfie Control, which is available free on Instagram. The tool features five animals - bison, bear, elk, moose and two types of bears (black and grizzly) - that reside in Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks and surrounding wilderness areas. To use the feature, click on the name of the animal, and an icon appears in the frame, plus the recommended distance: 25 yards for moose, elk and bison and 100 yards for bears. Once you set up your shot, the image of the real animal should be the same size as the symbol. If it’s too big, you’re too close.

“We are not discouraging people from going to see these animals, but we are trying to give them the tools to do it more responsibly and in a way that adheres to the guidelines in these wild places,” said Crista Valentino, the tourism board’s executive director.

Conflicts between humans and wildlife are a growing concern among conservationists and public land stewards. The number of park visitors and outdoor recreationists has been on the rise over the past few years. More than 4.5 million people visited Yellowstone last year, for instance, the second-most on record after the 4.86 million visitors of 2021. But not everyone is following the guidelines. On social media, you can gawp at people snapping selfies inches from burly bison, taunting black bears and mobbing elk. Multiple “touron” accounts on Instagram document such behavior.

“We need to abide by the rules of the park, because the wildlife could be potentially harmful to humans,” said Chamois Anderson, a senior representative of the Rockies and Plains program with the Defenders of Wildlife. “You just never know when they’re going to react in a negative way.”

In most cases, both parties escape unscathed - but not always. In June, a bison in Yellowstone gored an 83-year-old woman. Last week, a black bear attacked a child at a private campground near Custer National Forest in Montana. Just over a year ago, a Yellowstone visitor carried a newborn bison up a river bank in a misguided attempt to help the struggling animal. The herd rejected the baby, and officials had to euthanize it. The Montana bear was euthanized, too.

“Not respecting their space could result in harm to us and their potential death,” Anderson said.

Even if an interaction seems benign, wildlife experts say invading a wild animal’s space can cause it undue stress. The emotional or mental turmoil can interfere with its feeding, mating or migratory habits.

“Stress is probably more of a detrimental factor than the few times we actually have to euthanize animals for being aggressive,” said Renee Seidler, executive director of the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation.

National parks and other agencies that manage public lands, such as the U.S. Forest Service, share wildlife-safety tips on signs and in printed material distributed to visitors. Jackson Hole, which is about 10 minutes by car to the Moose Entrance of Grand Teton and a little over an hour’s drive to Yellowstone’s south entrance, dangles the PSA directly in visitors’ faces.

“We started talking about how we were seeing social media posts of people literally taking selfies with these animals,” Valentino said, “so we came up with the idea of ‘let’s not fight it, but lean into it.’”

The tourism board is promoting the filter around town - on sidewalk decals, light-pole banners and restaurant coasters - as well as beyond its borders. Valentino said visitors should activate the filter within a 200-mile radius of Jackson Hole, in destinations with similar wildlife. Since its debut in May, she said, thousands of people have downloaded it.

Because the technology is open-sourced, Valentino hopes other wildlife areas around the world will adopt the filter and tailor it to their local fauna needs - for instance, like in Australia.

“Let’s say Brisbane is having issues with their kangaroos,” Valentino said. “They can download the coding and add a kangaroo icon and the right distance.”