A group of excited tourists surrounded a grizzly bear and her two cubs at Yellowstone National Park, sparking a debate about how humans interact with wildlife

• A video shows a crowd surrounding a bear and her cubs at Yellowstone National Park. 
• Yellowstone National Park says visitors should stay at least 300 feet from bears. 
• Bad tourist behavior has plagued national parks in recent years.

An excited group of tourists at Yellowstone National Park surrounded a mother bear and her cubs as they took pictures earlier this month. 

A video of the scene is now prompting a discussion about how humans should behave around wildlife.

A fellow parkgoer captured the moment and shared the video with touronsofyellowstone, an Instagram account that combines the words "tourist" and "moron." The account posts videos of people doing questionable acts — like sticking their hand in a steaming hot spring — at Yellowstone National Park. 

In the footage, first shared on August 4, visitors crowd around the bear family as the animals navigate the area. Many visitors took photos, and a few people inched closer to the bears. The parkgoer who shared the video told touronsofyellowstone that the crowd ignored their request to give the animals space.

"I tried my best to get them away but man these people were clueless. We eventually had to bail but they were getting even closer as I left," the caption read. 

Yellowstone National Park did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. 

The video sparked a strong reaction from people in the comment section who suggested the tourists were much too close to the bears. 

"There's just way too many people in this park. People just need to leave these animals the hell alone," one person wrote in one comment. 

Another wrote: "Unreal. I live right next to the park and know how important it is to the economy but this is getting out of control."

The National Park Service said visitors at Yellowstone National Park should stay at least 100 yards, or 300 feet, away from bears. The agency also advised visitors to never approach or pursue animals for photos but to instead use binoculars or telephoto lenses to snag the shot.

"Wild animals are unpredictable and dangerous. Every year people are injured when they approach animals too closely," the agency wrote, adding that animals that attack people may be put down as a result. 

There have been dangerous interactions between bears and wildlife around Yellowstone National Park in the past. In July 2021, a woman faced criminal charges after footage showed her taking photos of a grizzly bear before the animal charged her. In May 2023, park rangers were forced to euthanize a bison calf after a visitor lifted it out of a river, causing the herd to reject it.