Earlier this year we reported on a family who got out of their car in a safari and proceeded to try and get a closer look at some nearby cheetahs. The cheetahs responded by trying to eat them. It was a monumentally stupid thing to do and the seriousness of the family’s actions are highlighted by just a few short seconds towards the end of the video that shows the mother running away from the predatory big cats while clutching her infant child in her arms.
Thankfully the family got back to their car safe and sound, so we could let out a collective sigh of relief while secretly laughing at their maddening idiocy.
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But 2018 isn’t done with us yet. Oh no. Because somehow someone managed to do something equally as stupid.
A recent video posted to Youtube shows a South African tourist at a safari reaching out of the vehicle to ruffle a lion’s mane. The lion—in a strange display of patience that we hope the hapless tourist is thankful for—turns, glowers at the man, then begins to growl. One of the other passengers can be heard yelping,
“Close the window!”
Luckily, someone else in the car decides to act fast and quickly slide the window shut. The lion continues to stare at them with an expression that can only be adequately described as “p*ssed off”.
However, while their behaviour seems childish, the repercussions could have been enormous. A South African safari ranger spoke to The Sun and told of how wrong the whole affair could have gone:
“Only those who work in the wild know the speed of a lion and it could have torn the arm off the person touching it.
“It would have the power to pull that tourist straight out of that window and kill them instantly in front of their friends. It was an incredibly stupid thing to do.
It could also just have easily crashed its way through the open window and torn into those inside. They were lucky to get away with it. They are wild animals.
“If the lion had killed this person then game rangers would probably have had to have killed it and if it was the pride male it could have serious consequences.
“I just have to shake my head when I see people behaving like this and they deserve all they get.”
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It’s interesting to note how this man’s reckless behaviour could have impacted himself, his friends, the lion, and even the lion’s entire pride, showing that one man’s stupidity can have wide-reaching consequences.
Thankfully, the worst-case scenario was narrowly avoided.
