Some people go to extreme lengths to get a good selfie, but perhaps none more obviously life-threatening than posing next to a wild bear.
Unsurprisingly, making such a mistake had fatal consequences for one man who took the unnecessary risk.
Prabhu Bhatara was travelling home from a wedding when he hopped out of his SUV to relieve himself in a field. He is thought to have caught sight of the injured bear before trying to take a selfie with it.
Others in the car reportedly warned Prabhu against it but his thirst for ultimate bragging rights was prioritised over his health.
Unfortunately, he died right there, on the spot, even after a stray dog had attempted to scuffle with the bear, who had previously been tranquilised.
Forest ranger Dhanurjaya Mohapatra said:
Bhatara died on the spot.
The bear is being treated for its injuries.
The incident occurred on Wednesday (May 2) near Papadahandi in the Nabarangpur district of Odisha, the Mirror reports.
Earlier this week, a lion was shot dead ‘for being a wild animal’ after pouncing on a British man who entered the confines of its enclosure.
71-year-old expat, Mike Hodge, was taken on a terrifying ride around the lion’s den.
Onlookers panicked and called for someone to ‘get a rifle’ and within moments, safari keepers had laid waste to Shamba the lion.
Mike is now recovering in hospital after suffering numerous cuts and a broken jaw in what must be his closest dance with death.
The incident occurred over the weekend at Marakele Animal Sanctuary in Thabazimbi, South Africa.
Spokeswoman Bernadette Maguire said the family were ‘devastated’ after Shamba was shot dead having raised the big cat since it was a cub, reports the Mirror.
She also said Hodge ‘is only too aware of the dangers of working with wildlife but they remain his passion.’
Online commenters weren’t so supportive, with one saying:
What the f*ck do you expect going in with a caged animal? But I’m sure it would have been shot after just for being a lion.
As for the hysterical woman? She still managed to film it! Absolute d*ckheads.
Another wrote:
This makes me LIVID! So the owner will recover and they kill this magnificent creature due to idiotic human error?
If I was kept in a cage, I would’ve done the same as this lion – and the lion actually just dragged him behind the bush and walked away – maybe he tasted/smelled like the piece of sh*t he is. People should boycott places like this!
While a third added:
So another beautiful lion is lost – killed for behaving according to his natural instinct. He was bred, caged and exploited for profit from birth by a greed-driven, depraved individual with a god-complex who thought that ‘his’ lion wouldn’t attack him.
This is not a ‘sanctuary’. Sanctuaries don’t have rifles on hand to murder the animals they are meant to be protecting! I’m so sick of wildlife paying the price for disgusting human greed and exploitation.
Rest in peace, beautiful king. You deserved your own pride and the freedom of the plains of Africa as your home. Instead, you were bred and used at every stage of your life for profit by heartless, wretched humans.
In the shocking footage, which has been circulating, Hodge can be seen entering the cage as another man, thought to be a keeper, carries a bucket attempting to coax the lion near to the edge.
Yet Shamba, impatient and one step ahead of the game, lunges for Hodge instead.
After an enormous tussle and many attempts to salvage Hodge without the aid of weaponry, a shot rings out and Shamba disappears.
A senseless death. Rest easy, Shamba.
May Prabhu rest in peace.
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