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Humans display their stupid side to wildlife
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-02 10:36
The mugger was not the first South African criminal to err in hiding among
zoo animals.
Max, a 200 kg (440 lb.) gorilla, won fame in 1997 after being wounded by a
terrified gunman who jumped a moat into his space in Johannesburg's zoo while
fleeing police.
Max pinned the fugitive against the wall of his enclosure and guarded him
even after being shot until police arrived, making him an instant folk hero in
crime-ridden South Africa.
Other people don't realise that you shouldn't get between a mother and her
offspring -- especially when dealing with the world's largest land mammal.
In April of this year, an elephant gored a tourist to death in a Ugandan
national park after the man, carrying an 8-year-old boy in his arms, approached
the animal's calf.
"I think many people are just far removed from nature. People who live in
cities often see nature as something that is tame and manageable," said Sue
Lieberman, director of the global species programme for conservation group WWF
International.
"And wrongly so. We don't need to tame nature, we need to keep the wild out
there," she told Reuters.
SHOW-OFFS
Then there are the show-offs.
Lions mauled a South African teenager in March who came too close to their
enclosure while trying to impress his girlfriend.
The sixteen-year-old, his girlfriend and his mother were having lunch with
the lion keeper when he ignored advice and went off with his girlfriend to see
the lions in the breeding section of the park just north of Johannesburg.
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