Clueless Sequoia ‘tourons’ spark outrage after endangering legendary giant tree with careless behavior

They got parks and wrecked.

A pair of oblivious tourists have sparked outraged online after they were documented blatantly ignoring the rules at Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park. A Reddit post detailing their crime against nature has racked up over 16,000 upvotes within a day.

“People who feel rules don’t apply to them,” an outraged viewer wrote in the caption.

The post includes two photos of the violations: One depicts a woman standing beyond one of the park’s famous giant sequoias, some of which are close to 3,000 years old.

The other shows a woman walking her dog on a trail despite pets being strictly forbidden in the parks, denoted by the park service.

While standing next to these primeval giants might seem innocent enough, repeatedly stepping on exposed roots or even the ground next to them can greatly damage the tree by impacting their water supply, per a Facebook post by Yosemite National Park.

Redditors were quick to rip into the bozos with one critic writing, “I swear about 75% of the tourists who come to parks suddenly lose the ability to read.”

“I don’t know why, but I’ve seen so many entitled dog owners who think rules just do not apply to their dog,” said another.

A third exclaimed “As a park ranger I can attest that most of my problems in the park are either visitor related because they refuse to follow the rules.”

One even joked that “Yellowstone has better security” along with a gif of a bison chasing tourists on a boardwalk.

Unfortunately, the behavior of the “tourons” — a portmanteau of “tourists” and “morons” used to describe visitors who behave foolishly on vacation  — seems to be part of a trend of National Park visitors brazenly ignoring the rules.

Earlier this month, two sightseers elicited outrage when they risked their lives by walking across the Grand Prismatic Spring’s sensitive bacterial mats in Yellowstone National Park.

Along with being incredibly dangerous, their oblivious stroll had the potential to cause damage to the formation.

The fragile mats, which lend the iconic hot spring its vivid colors, take roughly a year to regrow when trod upon.

A single footprint can crush millions of cells and leave permanent scars on the landscape.

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