A man has been labeled the “dumbest tourist’ after sticking his hand out of a safari jeep to stroke a lion’s mane. Video footage shows the man petting the animal’s mane as his friend takes a few selfies while in the Tanzania’s Serengetti National Park.
According to the Daily Star, the lion stares at the men and then lets out a terrifying roar as he bares his teeth. Another passenger in the jeep yells for the men to “close the window” as someone else quickly slides the glass shut. The lion continued to glare at the humans. Can you blame him?
The video was published on Wildlife Sighting’s YouTube page called “Dumbest Tourists Ever” where viewers excoriated the men for their reckless behavior. Under the video, the explanation is quite clear:
“Lions in the open plains to the Mara and Serengeti occasionally use a vehicle shade as cover when there are no trees in sight, this doesn’t mean that they trust humans but only the vehicles. To try to touch is incredibly stupid and ignorant of the tourist that filmed the sighting.”
Experts agree that the lions are so quick to react, the animal could have pulled the tourist out of the window and killed him instantly. Depending on how agitated the lion could have become, he also could have crashed his way through the window and killed everyone inside. The tourists were lucky, and then again so was the lion. Had the catastrophe occurred, besides killing a human, game wardens would have been forced to kill the lion, and if that lion was the pride male, it would have brought fatal consequences to the cubs since another male would killed the little ones.
What is wrong with humans?
(Video via YouTube. Freezeshots via video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLgAIcjJzP8
More news and updates on the National Pet Rescue Facebook page.
Scared bear beaten while forced to ride a skateboard – read more here.
No brain cells working and they were very lucky. Stupidity, but we could read about this same person again doing something like this with another animal.
This is a story that keeps repeating itself over and over again, whether it’s with lions, bison, or what have you.
People are STUPID and dangerous. No way he wasn’t warned before he started the safari, although it shouldn’t even be necessary.
If the lion had attacked ,there’s also no way he should have had to pay with his life. The tourist, however, is another matter entirely. No one can blame the lion for being angry at the stupidity of an ignorant ass with no respect for the lion or the danger the tourist put himself in, nor the danger he put everyone else in just to take a selfie.
Must have a”death wish”! More insane behavior–his wish may come true!
Lucky that animals are often smarter than humans.
Stupid people !! No hjärnceller åt all!!!
Good thing the lion wasn’t seeing “dinner”.
Unbelievable….. my husband and I have been to Africa (& taken an open air Jeep safari). We stood still for what seemed an eternity waiting for a leopard to move on his way……. NEVER did it occur to either of us (or our guide) to “reach out and touch this animal”…….
We didn’t take “selfies” or excessive snapshots…… we had an amazing time without documenting every second…..
My Dad always said, “take only snapshots and leave only footprints when you are in the wild”……. that’s exactly what we did…..
This idiot was very lucky to be in an enclosed vehicle (I shudder to think what would have happened to him had he been in an open air Jeep)…….. clearly only thinking of “documenting every second” of his trip…….