A video shared by Tourons of National Parks (@touronsofnationalparks) showed how one visitor got a bit too close to an aggressive antelope.
The video clip showed two men walking near a gemsbok. They walked onto the side of a path to increase their distance from the animal, but they were still too close. The gemsbok, sensing a threat, charged at the visitors, impaling one man's coat with its massive horns.
The gemsbok (also known as the South African oryx) is able to reach speeds of 35 miles per hour, making a scant 20 feet an inadequate amount of room for the animal. The National Park Service suggests keeping a distance of 75 feet (or two bus-lengths) with most wildlife.
Nosy tourists have routinely got on the wrong side of large wildlife when visiting parks. This includes kangaroos, bears, elk, and many others. As animals become more accustomed to human presence, these sorts of risky encounters become more likely.
The gemsbok incident took place outside of Las Cruces at White Sands National Park. Gemsbok were imported to the area in the 1970s for game hunting, but they are a concern for wildlife managers today because there are no natural predators able to hunt them like lions would in their native African habitat.
This makes gemsbok invasive, whereby they compete with native species for resources like food and water and shrink local biodiversity. One estimate suggested that invasive species have globally incurred over a trillion dollars' worth of costs over the course of 50 years.
Despite this destructive trajectory, Instagram commenters were squarely on the gemsbok's side.
"Those antlers have killed lions, leopards, cheetahs, and hyenas in their native African Savannah. He is lucky to be alive," said one community member.
"Gonna need new underwear in addition to a new jacket," replied another.
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