Sometimes, a video shows someone doing something ill-considered, leaving viewers wondering how the person got out of the situation unscathed — as in the case of footage of a tourist fighting with a sea lion instead of enjoying a peaceful vacation.
Video shared by the Tourons of National Parks (@touronsofnationalparks) Instagram account sparked strong criticism of the decision on the subject.
Video shows a man spotting a sea lion at the dock’s launch. Instead of quieting the animal, he went up to scare it, egged on by voices off-camera. The tourist lunged at the creature, raised his fist, and then attempted to tackle it, jokingly appearing to provoke a fight.
Luckily for his sake, the sea lion simply confronted him and no serious injuries were caused. However, sea lion attacks are on the rise in some areas, with people reporting bites and unusual aggressive behavior, which news reports attribute to the effects of toxic algae on marine life, according to CNN.
Sadly, the encounter captured in the video is far from the first time tourists have provoked wild animals. Videos of them angering elk, taunting bison, and being attacked by antelopes have gone viral, with many commenters criticizing the men for their thoughtless, dangerous and cruel behavior.
Wild animals do not live to entertain humans, and trying to harass sea lions for no reason is dangerous. Not only are the tourists in the video causing stress to the sea lions, but they are also putting themselves and the sea lions at risk of harm. If a wild animal attacks a human, whether provoked or not, it can be euthanized.
Instagram users flooded the comments with expressions of utter disgust at the man’s actions.
“Those things will destroy you!” one person said.
Another added: “Alcohol must have been involved.”
“They kill sharks,” one commenter warned. “Don’t disturb nature anymore, unless it disturbs you.”
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