As Rick Wallen says, few things tourists do are surprising, yet within the last week Yellowstone’s senior bison scientist learned of an incident that left even him speechless.

A pair of international travelers making their way through the wildlife-rich Lamar Valley in early May was arrested and ticketed after they allegedly caught a wild newborn bison calf from the roadside, loaded the animal into their vehicle and drove it to a ranger station. The motivation for their brazen action: They believed they were being Good Samaritans, rescuing the bison because it appeared to be abandoned and shivering in the cold.

Tragically, the calf was euthanized May 10 after park biologists tried numerous times to reunite the snatched buffalo with its herd but