Yellowstone – the park, not the TV show – is in the news once again. This time, it’s not because it’s one of the most beautiful National Parks in the country or because of the recent explosion that caused a new crater spring. It’s in the news because of viral videos supposedly showing animals fleeing the park.
Over the past week, a flurry of misinformation has swept across social media, sparked by a series of viral videos claiming that wildlife is fleeing Yellowstone National Park en masse. At the center of the frenzy is Scott Whitehead, a self-described “animal expert,” who insists that “grizzle bears” (yes, he said “grizzle”) have had enough and are hitting the road—alongside countless other species—in a supposed mass exodus that has “baffled scientists.”
One of Whitehead’s videos, which inaccurately depicts a parade of bears leaving the park, quickly racked up millions of views. The internet followed suit, with social media pages sharing dramatic—often doctored—images of bears allegedly bolting from Yellowstone. The topic surged in popularity on Google, igniting concerns among some viewers that the animals might be sensing an imminent eruption of the park’s famed supervolcano.
Are the animals leaving Yellowstone Park?
But here’s the truth: the footage is neither recent nor from Yellowstone. According to Snopes, the bear video was filmed at Bear Country USA, a drive-through wildlife park in South Dakota that features black bears—not grizzlies, as Whitehead claimed—alongside wolves, bison, and other species. Further complicating matters, some of the more sensational follow-up images appear to be AI-generated hoaxes.
Just days before the bear saga, Whitehead also posted a video claiming that mountain lions were migrating from Yellowstone to Utah—except the cougar in question was filmed in Patagonia.
According to ABC News reporting, Linda Veress, a spokesperson for the National Park Service, dismissed the bear claims as false and likely satirical, suspecting that AI played a role in their creation. “Wildlife is not leaving Yellowstone National Park in large numbers,” she confirmed. “This rumor is false.” The U.S. Geological Survey backed her up, reporting normal volcanic activity levels across the park.
Bill Hamilton, a wildlife biologist at Washington and Lee University, was equally skeptical. He noted that bears rarely gather in large groups unless there’s an immediate, abundant food source—which clearly wasn’t the case here.
And while it’s true that Yellowstone’s wildlife isn’t fenced in and often moves in and out of the park based on seasonal food availability, mass summer migrations are uncommon. “This kind of misinformation might seem entertaining,” Hamilton added, “but it fuels harmful misconceptions about how animals actually behave.”
How animal migration really works
The truth behind these animal movements is far more grounded in biology than in prophecy. Wildlife in Yellowstone moves with the rhythm of the seasons—a natural cycle that has played out for millennia. Contrary to myth and internet lore, animals don’t possess a sixth sense that alerts them to impending geological upheaval.
Instead, their migrations are driven by instinct, food availability, and weather. As snow begins to fall and temperatures dip, many species follow timeworn routes to lower elevations where forage is more accessible and conditions are less severe. Bison routinely shift between seasonal ranges, often crossing the park’s boundaries.
Elk embark on epic migrations that stretch across hundreds of miles in search of open grazing grounds. Grizzly bears and mountain lions also adjust their range based on prey movement and seasonal needs. In fact, you can witness it yourself at the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming (I had the pleasure of visiting last year.
So while a video of bison trotting down a snowy road may look dramatic out of context, it’s actually part of a well-understood ecological pattern—not a stampede from an erupting volcano. Yellowstone’s wildlife is simply following nature’s calendar, not fleeing from it.
In short, Yellowstone isn’t emptying out. It’s just another summer in America’s oldest national park, where the bears are staying put—and the stories, it turns out, are the ones doing all the wandering.