Table of contents
- Yellowstone’s Viral Hoax: Animals Aren’t Fleeing a Supervolcano
- The Truth Behind The Viral Videos
- Why Animals Aren’t Predicting Eruptions
- Monitoring The Yellowstone Supervolcano
- Sources
Officials at Yellowstone National area have put an end to persistent rumors on social media that animals are leaving the area because a supervolcano is about to erupt. Videos on social media, which are often made by AI or taken out of context, caused anxiety, but scientists say these animal movements are routine seasonal migrations and there is no hint of volcanic activity.
Animals aren’t running away from a supervolcano in Yellowstone.
Recent viral images showing big groups of bison, elk, grizzly bears, and mountain lions apparently leaving Yellowstone National Park have sparked a lot of worry and speculation about a supervolcano eruption that might happen soon. Park officials and scientists, on the other hand, have quickly disproven these allegations, saying that the videos are either misleading, made by AI, or just depict typical animal behavior.
The Real Story Behind the Viral Videos
Misleading Content: A lot of the popular videos are either old material that has been edited to tell a different story or videos that were made totally by AI. For example, a video that said grizzly bears were blocking traffic and fleeing Yellowstone was actually filmed in January 2025, not July, at Bear Country USA, a wildlife park in South Dakota.
Normal Migration Patterns: Animals like bison, elk, and bears in Yellowstone move in regular ways throughout certain times of the year. These movements are not caused by looming geological calamities, but by things like the availability of food, the weather (for example, animals go to lower elevations in cooler months), and their reproductive habits.
Human Activity: More people and construction near the park can also change how animals move, making them look for quieter places.
Why Animals Aren’t Predicting Eruptions
Wildlife scientists and biologists who have studied Yellowstone’s ecology for decades agree that animals do not have special powers that let them know when a volcano is about to explode. For instance:
Grizzly Bears: Grizzly bears don’t gather in big groups like the viral videos show. They only do it when there is a lot of food around. The seasons determine how they migrate based on the availability of roots, grasses, berries, and nuts.
Bison and elk follow old migration paths and often look for places with less snow and easier access to food. People have seen their motions as part of a natural cycle for thousands of years.
Mountain Lions: These solitary hunters follow their prey (mostly elk and deer) inside their own territory and don’t move in groups. Experts say that videos of them doing this are “nonsense.”
Keeping an eye on the Yellowstone Supervolcano
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) is a group of state and federal entities that keep an eye on the park’s huge volcanic system all the time. They keep an eye on:
Seismic Activity: Keeping an eye on earthquakes.
Ground Deformation: Keeping track of changes in the ground’s surface.
Gas Emissions: Looking at the gasses that come out of thermal characteristics.
Right now, the warning level for volcanic activity at Yellowstone is still “normal” or “Code Green.” Scientists say that these advanced monitoring systems would be able to pick up on any real indicators of an eruption years or even decades in advance, giving people plenty of time to prepare. About 640,000 years ago, the last big eruption that formed a caldera happened. There is some little activity now and again, but it is not usually a cause for alarm. There is no scientific evidence to support the idea that animals are running away because of a supervolcano eruption.
Sources
- Yellowstone’s Fleeing Animals Spark Imminent Volcanic Eruption Concerns, But Experts Say What’s Really Going
On, TheTravel. - Animals fleeing Yellowstone? Truth behind viral video fueling supervolcano fears, Hindustan Times.
- Wildlife is not migrating out of Yellowstone National Park, despite misinformation spreading on social media,
NPS says, ABC News. - Video claiming animals are leaving Yellowstone are AI-generated, USA Today.
- Yellowstone supervolcano eruption fears go viral: What is Yellowstone Park’s supervolcano, and is it on the
verge of erupting? Rumors swirl as fears explode online, The Economic Times.