It's unfortunately become very common to see tourists interacting with animals inappropriately and being aggressive and careless around wildlife.
Instagram user Tourons of National Parks (@touronsofnationalparks) runs a page dedicated to reposting other users' pictures and videos of tourists acting foolishly in national parks. They recently shared a video of visitors agitating a baby seal on a beach in Horseshoe Bay, British Columbia.
The video shows two people getting way too close to a seal resting on a rock to snap a photo of it. Unfortunately, this is a dangerous situation for everyone involved.
The tourists were balancing on wet and slippery rocks and could have easily fallen down and physically injured the seal and themselves. Their behavior also could have provoked the seal to defend itself and attack the humans.
Sadly, when wild animals injure humans under any circumstances, they can be hurt, taken into captivity, or even euthanized. Although no one was injured in this particular encounter, it's still disrespectful and violates wildlife safety guidelines.
Tourists should always follow official safety rules and guidelines when visiting national parks and apply that same common sense when exploring any type of outdoor space. Wild animals of all sizes are unpredictable, and they should never be approached or disturbed.
Leaving wildlife alone keeps them safe, and staying out of their natural habitat is essential to the well-being of the local ecosystem and larger environment.
Commenters on the post were quite upset by the video and agreed that this type of behavior is becoming a troubling problem.
"Imagine if this was done to human babies!" one user commented.
"Human arrogance is dangerous. It's sad and pathetic. We won't be happy until we have screwed up nature beyond repair," another user said.
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"We deal with this all the time in San Diego with sea lions," one commenter said.
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