Stupid Human Tricks - Darwin Awards, Wildlife Category - ENN

[hatrack]

JOHANNESBURG — A South African mugger fleeing the scene of his crime hides in a tiger enclosure. On the country's coast, a woman attempts to be a good Samaritan by pushing a young seal into the sea, believing the poor thing is stranded. Both people paid heavily for their stupidity, underscoring one of nature's truisms: Humans do dumb things around wild animals.

"I blame it on Walt Disney, where animals are given human qualities. People don't understand that a wild animal is not something that is nice to pat. It can seriously harm you," said James Cameron, a South African professional hunter.

The cartoon image of wildlife may have prompted a 49-year-old South African woman in October to try to help a seal which she believed was stranded, allowing her 1-year-old grandchild to stroke the creature in the process. The seal responded by biting off the woman's nose.

EDIT

Then there was the South African robber who made the mistake last month of taking refuge in an enclosure which turned out to be home to a pair of unimpressed tigers. He had fled into a nearby zoo after security guards heard the screams of a couple he had just mugged in Bloemfontein, about 250 miles southwest of Johannesburg. Unsurprisingly, he was mauled to death by the big cats.

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=9614

[xchrom]

1. ''unsurprisingly, he was mauled to death by the big cats.''

lol -- droll much?

[hyphenate]

2. A whale, a dolphin perhaps;

but a seal? Didn't the woman realize that a seal has appendanges that let them walk? I know some people are just plain stupid, but sometimes, it's really a good thing to take them out of the gene pool!

As for the guy with the tigers, I have to merely shake my head on that one!