It\u2019s far from a one-off. I recently saw another video showing an impatient driver attempting to motor along a road where a pride of lions<\/a> was resting, running over one individual\u2019s tail and causing the lion to spring up and attack the vehicle in self-defence. And yet another in which a leopard cub was allowed to almost climb into the open doors of a safari van, even though its protective mother was not far away, so a photographer could get a close-up.<\/p>\n There are hundreds more examples of people doing brainless things around wild and dangerous animals, from taunting tigers<\/a> to picking up rattlesnakes.<\/p>\n Idiocy around wildlife risks the safety of both people and animals. People risk being attacked, mauled and possibly killed, while animals can be harmed, removed or put down, irrespective of whether they were only defending themselves. Animal attacks can also cast a destination in a negative light, causing temporary closures or deterring visitors. All just so someone could boast that they\u2019d stroked a lion, or captured a moment on a cameraphone.<\/p>\n The Serengeti incident received a swift response. \u201cThe Tanzanian government sent a notification to all tour operators saying animals can\u2019t be touched or allowed to jump onto trucks, ever,\u201d the CEO of a luxury safari company in Tanzania, who preferred not to be named, tells me. \u201cThere had been several videos of cheetahs jumping on the roofs of safari vehicles. But then this video went viral of a man who had the audacity to get out of a vehicle in the middle of the Serengeti to pet a lioness. We were all shocked and annoyed. The tour operator was immediately called out and fined.\u201d<\/p>\n But what were these people thinking?\u00a0Is stupidity on the rise? Or are we just more aware of these incidents because they are snapped on cameraphones and shared on social media?<\/p>\n \u201cTourists are getting more and more reckless around wildlife,\u201d says wildlife photographer Anette Mossbacher<\/a>. \u201cTen or fifteen years ago, it wasn\u2019t as bad. Today, people get out of their cars to take selfies with\u00a0elephants<\/a> or rhinos<\/a> in the background, or send their children over to giraffes<\/a> to take photos with the animals\u2019 long legs as the backdrop.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Photographers are sometimes part of the problem, pushing the boundaries to get that incredible shot. But many people working in wildlife areas see social media as the main driver of reckless behaviour. \u201cPeople risking their life or doing stupid things with wildlife are after \u2018likes\u2019 and \u2018followers\u2019, something to show off on Instagram,\u201d says Mossbacher. \u201cThe greater the risk, the more \u2018likes\u2019 they get. With some clients, it seems like a sickness or addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n Wildlife photographer Paul Goldstein<\/a>, who owns a camp in Kenya\u2019s Maasai Mara conservancies, refers to the obsession as \u201cfaunal porn\u201d. \u201cI\u2019ve even seen people stopping wildebeest crossings,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s fuelled by the pressures and the narcotic of Instagram, where everything is about vanity. It\u2019s ignorant and extremely dangerous. Every tourist in a wildlife area must be given proper information on how to behave around animals. And prosecution must be severe.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet social media isn\u2019t entirely to blame. People have always taken risks for an \u2018experience\u2019 or for the sheer hell of it. Foolish behaviour and a tendency to get cocky around dangerous animals must have been around since the dawn of humanity. A hunger for attention online might drive some of the current madness, but some individuals might be trying to recreate a piece of the action they\u2019ve seen on television. Perhaps the adrenaline rush when close to wild animals causes an evaporation of common sense.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a worrying lack of awareness that animals several times our size, weight, speed and strength can easily hurt us,\u201d says wildlife photographer David Lloyd<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t think parks are doing enough to raise awareness.\u00a0Tourists need to know how their presence can affect wildlife. A good example is cheetahs<\/a> on vehicle rooftops. It may be a thrill for the bystanders, but the consequences if a mother cheetah falls off would be severe. She would no longer be able \u2028to hunt, so her cubs could easily starve.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy perception is that the problem is increasing,\u201d says Philip Muruthi, vice president of species conservation and science for the African Wildlife Foundation<\/a>. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t play with large, dangerous animals, or even smaller ones. These are parks, not petting shops.\u201d<\/p>\n Is education the answer, or should there be tougher penalties for those who take silly risks? Perhaps both. \u201cPeople aren\u2019t getting the education about why they need to stay away from wildlife, including avoiding diseases, keeping people secure and letting wildlife be wild,\u201d says Muruthi. \u201cWe need to educate tourists through signs, pamphlets and frontline drivers. We should adhere to guidelines, and there needs to be enforcement through the law.\u201d<\/p>\n No one understands the importance of rules and regulations in Africa\u2019s parks and reserves better than expert local guides. But there\u2019s also a pressure on guides and drivers to appease their clients, who\u2019ve often paid vast sums of money to be there. Saying \u2018no\u2019 risks confrontation, complaints and losing out on tips. \u201cIt\u2019s never a good\u00a0experience to be on a\u00a0safari\u00a0with disgruntled guests, but if they\u2019re not happy because I put safety first and adhere to the laws governing national parks and game reserves, there\u2019s not much I can do about it,\u201d says Kabelo Kgafela, a safari guide in Botswana. \u201cI\u2019ve\u00a0seen the dark side of tip-driven guiding. It leads people to disregard the environment and safety of everyone, including the animals. Chasing tips has never been my objective.\u201d<\/p>\n Guides often have to act as babysitters for tourists who should know better. \u201cIn Akagera National Park<\/a>, a young guest once got out of the vehicle to take a selfie with a nearby giraffe,\u201d recalls Emmanuel Rulinda, a guide from Rwanda. \u201cI was insisting he had to get back in, then I saw a buffalo charging towards him. Thankfully the engine was running and I was able to quickly move the vehicle, blocking the buffalo from going straight at him. The boy rushed back into the vehicle, then the buffalo hit it twice and damaged one of the front lights. The boy\u2019s mother was crying, begging me to get them out of the park.\u201d<\/p>\n Irresponsible tourism is not unique to Africa, of course. On an expedition I went on to Antarctica, passengers were given a detailed briefing on how to behave around wildlife, including keeping a safe distance from penguins, yet two guests later shared pictures they\u2019d taken of themselves patting a penguin and posing for photos beside it.<\/p>\n Guides I\u2019ve met around the world have reported everything from tigers being pelted with stones to \u2018react\u2019 for photos to snorkelers trying to ride turtles. Just as bottles of bleach shouldn\u2019t need to have a label saying \u201cDo not drink\u201d, tourists in Yellowstone shouldn\u2019t need to be told not to take a selfie with a bison. But it still happens. \u201cVisitors getting too close to bison and getting injured has become an all-too-common occurrence,\u201d says Chamois\u00a0Andersen, Defenders of Wildlife<\/a>\u2019s senior representative for the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. \u201cThe park even has dedicated rangers stationed where the bison are, to educate people who get out of their vehicles and get too close.\u201d<\/p>\n Again, the question is whether \u2018awareness-raising\u2019 is enough, or whether the law needs to take a firmer hand. \u201cMore education is clearly needed,\u201d says Andersen. \u201cBans to certain areas would be unfortunate, but if we keep seeing adverse impacts to animals and injuries to people who don\u2019t follow the rules, we won\u2019t be able to observe these animals in the wild in the park. Keeping bison wild should take precedent.\u201d<\/p>\nWhat were they thinking?<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/02\/Giraffe-cartoon--Eric-Smith-02289a4.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C929"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>A long age of stupidity<\/h2>\n
A worldwide problem<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/03\/Bison-danger-sign-Getty-3eca85d.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C412"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Keeping wildlife wild<\/h2>\n