There's little a person can do in the face of Africa's top
predator, experts say.
The tour guide killed by a lion while on
a walking safari in Zimbabwe'sHwange
National Park did everything right in responding to the attack,
according to experts—but he still paid the ultimate price
Quinn Swales, 40, a professional guide, was leading a group
of six tourists in the park—the former home of Cecil
the lion—when they came upon a pride. The male lion got up and began
approaching the tour group."As he had done numerous times in his career,
Quinn immediately briefed his guests on what to expect and instructed them to
get behind him and not move," Camp Hwange, a safari camp in the
park, said
in a Facebook statement announcing the death.
After Quinn and the group shouted and set off a “bear
banger”—an instrument that makes a loud noise like a gunshot—the lion seemed to
retreat, only to double back suddenly and attack Quinn. He died on site.
"The guide who lost his life did his job: Placing
himself between tourists under his care and a source of danger," Luke
Dollar, program director for National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative,
says in an email.
Dollar says the park should review whether it was wise to
place the guide in that vulnerable situation, particularly when there was a
safer option of watching the animals from a vehicle.
However, he adds that "walking safaris themselves are
generally and widely done safely and responsibly."
"I don't expect this will lead to a major change in
whether walking safaris continue to be a common offering in safari
experiences," he adds.
"What this incident will hopefully do, however, is
serve as an important reminder that safety—in any endeavor—should always be of
paramount concern."
Top Predator
Dollar adds that the male lion was doing what it evolved to
do.
"Almost any organism around lions might be a potential
prey item, and for people to think that they are an exception is folly,"
Dollar said
in a previous interview following a fatal lion attack in South Africa in June.
"I would imagine that every other primate that
co-exists with big cats is acutely aware of the position they hold relative to
the top predators of the world." (Also see "California
Death Prompts Questions About Lion Attacks.")
Dollar says danger arises when people allow themselves to be
lulled into a false sense of security in the presence of lions or other
carnivores.
"We don't have claws or big canines or size as an
advantage," he says.
Respect the King of the Jungle
Dollar estimates that dozens, if not hundreds, of people are
attacked by lions each year.
In the wild, old or sick lions may target people because
they cannot catch their normal prey, and people are generally easier gets.
"If a person is standing next to an impala and a lion
decides it's going to eat something, that impala is probably going to get away
and that person is probably not." (Learn
more about big cats and their behaviors.)
That said, people should not be afraid to observe lions in
the wild, Dollar said, but should know that they might be viewed as potential
prey and to act accordingly.
"We need to remember that we call these animals the
kings of the jungle for a reason," says Dollar. "We need to respect
what they are and their natural behaviors."
Source :http://news.nationalgeographic.com/
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