Newborn Bison Had to Be Euthanized After They Put It in Their Car [VIDEO]

A father and son were driving through Yellowstone National Park when they saw a newborn bison that looked "cold", so they picked it up and put it in the back of their SUV. They brought it to a park building, but officials say, in the end the calf had to be euthanized.

The two were ticketed for the incident.

 

The rangers on scene did a heroic job trying to get that bison to go back to the herd nearby, even using lights and sirens on their vehicles to get it to move away from the road and reunite with the other buffalo. But with no idea of where the calf came from or which mama bison it belonged to, there wasn't much else they could do. The baby buffalo had to be put down", Charissa Reid, a public affairs specialist for Yellowstone National Park, tells PEOPLE.