Foolhardy Safari Tourist Learns the Hard Way Why You Should Never Try To Pet a Wild Lion

11The lion was bottle fed by Hodges

The most surprising thing about the entire incident was that the lion named Shamba who attacked Hodges was brought up in the wildlife sanctuary. The animal was also bottle fed by Hodges and was given no reason to attack him.

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12An unfortunate incident while guiding tourists

As was the usual practice, Hodges had taken a few tourists inside the sanctuary on a ride. Chickens are placed on top of the vehicle when driving by the lions as a treat and Shambha was usually the first one to reach them. However, this time, Shambha was distracted by something and Hodges wanted to check it out. He had been in the lion’s presence several times and was never threatened by him.

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13An unexpected aggression from the animal

It was totally unexpected and no one knows what prompted Shambha to attack Hodges who thought the animal was at a safe distance. When he went to see what distracted the lion, the animal lunged at him and attacked him.

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14The Lion dragged him away into the bushes

The animal then dragged Hodges away deeper into the enclosure much to the horror of everyone present. The lion was distracted from attacking Hodges further and then sadly shot. This of course has devastated Hodges and his family who look after the animals like family.

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15Wild animals are guided by instinct

Hodges was lucky to be alive and suffered a broken jaw with multiple lacerations. He is still under recovery. However, the family received a trolling and lashing by many on social media who are yet to understand what really happened as it wasn’t exactly Hodges fault. Because of the negative response, the park has since been closed. But then, it goes to show, wild animals are wild animals and they attack not because of emotions or by conscious decision but by instinct. They aren’t responsible for their actions which are natural. It is up to humans to maintain the balance in a relationship and always be careful.

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