The Jackson Hole, Wyoming, tourism board has created an open-source Instagram filter to help visitors determine whether they are taking photos at a safe distance from wildlife. The council hopes the tool will help better protect visitors to wildlife destinations and the animals they are viewing during the busy summer tourist season.
To use the filter, visitors to the Valley and Wilderness Recreation Area need to turn on the Selfie Control filter in the Instagram app. After selecting the type of wildlife to view, visitors must align the animal’s outline with its illustration. If real-life animals are larger than the icon, then they are too close and should move back.
Jackson Hole, like nearby Yellowstone National Park and other wildlife destinations, provides guidance to visitors on how much space they need for animals based on their type. For example, visitors should give bears at least 100 yards of space, while Jackson Hole recommends visitors give other animals like moose at least 25 yards of space.
However, it’s difficult to tell by sight alone whether you’re at least 100 yards away, which is why the committee developed the filter. That’s why Jackson Hole has made it open source, so other wilderness destinations can download the code and create their own versions.
“We hope to see an increase in the number of amazing wildlife images and a dramatic decrease in incidents and accidents,” said Crista Valentino, executive director of the Jackson Hole Visitors Bureau.
There have been several well-publicized incidents over the years of tourists coming dangerously close to wildlife in national parks. In April, a tourist was bitten by a bison while visiting Yellowstone National Park and was arrested for getting too close.
According to a 2018 study in the journal Science a healthyBetween 2000 and 2015, bison caused more damage than any other animal in Yellowstone National Park. But, that a healthy The study also noted that 48% of injuries occurred when tourists were too close to the animals to take photos.
