Shocking video shows reckless tourist interrupting lion mid-meal: 'Why would he get out of the vehicle?'

When it comes to wild animals, just a few feet can be the difference between safety and catastrophe. A video shared on TikTok by The Daily Star (@TheDailyStar) shows a man stepping dangerously close to a lion that was in the middle of eating its prey.

The moment took place during what appeared to be a safari-style encounter, where the tourist left the safety of his vehicle to film the animal. The lion lunged forward, causing the man to stumble backward while horrified onlookers shouted warnings.

@thedailystar He's lucky he didn't end up as dessert! #dailystar ♬ Minimal for news / news suspense(1169746) - Hiraoka Kotaro

The clip, released by Jam Press, has since circulated online with more than 190 comments mostly criticizing the man's reckless behavior, with one commenter wondering, "Why would he get out of the vehicle."

Incidents like these aren't rare. A video from last summer showed a tourist in India trying to disturb a wild elephant for a photo op. The elephant charged, sending the tourist fleeing for his life in terror. Both of these incidents serve as examples that trying to get close to or film wild predators puts everyone at risk.

To prevent these incidents, the National Park Service urges visitors to maintain distance, use zoom lenses, and never approach wild animals, because many attacks occur when people try to get too close.

The danger also extends to the animals. As the NPS explains, wildlife can become injured when it tries to escape people who get too close, especially if it is near human structures or roads. In this case, if the lion had attacked, it may also have become the responsibility of the authorities to put the animal down, despite it simply protecting its food.

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For example, Yellowstone National Park officials were forced to euthanize a bear that was repeatedly getting too close to visitors — most likely because it was too used to humans getting close and trying to feed or interact with it.

The video left TikTok commenters frustrated.

"People lose their [mind] around wild life. They do this in all parts of the world and I don't understand why they think it's ok," a concerned user wrote in the comment section.

"Him not turning his back to the lion saved his life big time. He should be fined hugely and banned from such parks as if the lion killed him the lion would've been killed," another user replied with angry emojis.