The aberrant behaviour by a lion at a wildlife park in Karnataka shows why we need a tourism protocol
As if the existing threats to wildlife in the form of illegal poaching, encroachments and culling were not enough, a new provocation comes from intrusive tourism. Unknowingly or out of curiosity, tourists are heckling animals so much during safaris that the latter are now displaying aberrant behaviour. The latest such instance was captured by one of the passengers aboard a jeep at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Zoological Park in Bellary, Karnataka, in August, which went viral this week. An aggressive male lion is seen chasing a jeep full of visitors until the driver accelerated enough to outpace him. It was sheer luck that the tourists managed to escape the wrath of the lion, who was hellbent on pouncing upon them. Now the king of the jungle is usually gentle when not on the hunt, even unperturbed by human behaviour. Besides, by virtue of park tourism, lions have become quite immune to human attention. So it was quite strange that Keshri, the lion in question, would become hostile unless he was teased or provoked. Turns out he had just been brought to the park and was yet to settle down. Clearly, he was not used to tourist behaviour and should not have been exposed to visitors either. Particularly, when he was yet to demarcate his territoriality and be sure of his limits, he was but expectedly insecure. In the age of daring selfies and their virality, tourists are not just happy taking routine shots but want a dramatic film sequence. And when they cross limits of admissibility, they run the risk of a chase or attack. Be it big cats or elephants, several videos of them raging after tourists have circulated on social media. In July, a similar video was captured as bikers were chased by a tiger at the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary in Wayanad, Kerala.
Our big cats are stressed in their fragmented habitats, some of which do not have enough roaming stretches, prey bases or transit corridors to deeper forests. Human encroachment and development have resulted in frequent man-animal conflicts. Hemmed in from all sides, such aberrant behaviour is being reported all too frequently now, even from reserves like the Kruger National Park. Tourist behaviour, therefore, should be respectful of protocol and mindful of the peace any sanctuary guarantees the wild. For example, protocol calls for the visitors to maintain a certain distance from the animals during an encounter, which is definitely not followed either by them or unscrupulous tour operators hellbent on selling a “sighting.” With greater interest comes greater responsibility.
