Pierce Brosnan, the former James Bond actor, has reportedly been charged with going off the prescribed trail near the Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. As a result, Brosnan is due to appear at a Wyoming court on January 23.

This may sound like a trivial situation – wandering off the path in a national park – but it is an offense the US National Park Services take very seriously. This is because the area in question, the Mammoth Hot Springs, is extremely dangerous.

There are over 10,000 different hydrothermal features that are active across the park, ranging from hot springs and mudpots, to fumaroles and geysers. The latter are so numerous that, the Park reports, over half of the world’s active geysers are located at Yellowstone.

All of these hydrothermal features are the “visible expression of the immense Yellowstone volcano” that heats the groundwater and forces it to the surface. It’s a spectacular and equally dynamic phenomenon to witness, which can drastically transform in short periods of time. However, the waters can be deadly as well.

The hot springs can reach temperatures of around 92°C (198°F), while the steam vents can reach as high as 135°C (275°F).

According to the National Park, more than 20 people have been killed after falling into the boiling waters. The ground around this place is fragile and can easily give way, plunging visitors into the hot acidic water below them.

In 2022, a human foot in a shoe was seen floating in the boiling springs, and a year earlier a 20-year-old woman recieved significant burns after she tried to save her dog from the springs. In 2016, a 23-year-old man was killed at the Lower Geyser Basin after he wandered from the prescribed boardwalk trail. In the end, the authorities were unable to recover his body as the waters had almost completely dissolved it by the next day.

In less fatal circumstances, three men were banned from the national park after being caught cooking two chickens in the springs. This act of fowl play earned them a hefty fine.

To date, Brosnan has remained silent on the trespassing matter, as per the BBC. Still, it's important to recognize that not even Bond is above the law, and the warning signs at Yellowstone are there for everyone – not just for your eyes only. Follow them and you may live to die another day.