Animal bites frequently send people to hospital emergency rooms; however, most of these visits are due to domestic animal encounters. Wild animals rarely bite humans and typically only do so when provoked.
A shocking reminder of this fact came from an Instagram post by Tourons of National Parks (@touronsofnationalparks). It involved an iguana in Florida.
In the video, a young man was shown holding an iguana. The caption read "Living in Florida be like."
The man grabs and holds the iguana next to his arm, which the animal promptly bites, leaving significant damage with an open wound.
"Yeah, I'll probably need stitches," the man said.
This video is disturbing because it demonstrates how irresponsible people can be around wildlife. Approaching and handling wild animals is incredibly dangerous for everyone involved, even if the animals seem calm and harmless at first.
The Instagram post does not clarify precisely where the incident took place. But in any setting, allowing animals to live in their natural habitats is crucial rather than taunting and provoking them to the point of instinctual aggression.
If you enjoy spending time in nature and learning about wildlife, remember that animals can act unpredictably and severely harm people while putting their own lives at risk. Similarly, another Tourons of National Parks post went viral after a tourist lured a wild coyote and was bit in Mammoth Lakes, California.
These examples are devastating reminders about how we must respect wildlife and treat wild animals with caution — for everyone's benefit.
Instagrammers were shocked to see the video and shared their experiences as well as frustrations about human-wildlife encounters in the comments.
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Definitely 👍 "That had to hurt," one Instagrammer wrote. "Watched a friend get bit by his own pet iguana, and he was in pain! He also had to get shots and medication."
"As a surgical nurse, some of the worst infections I've seen that have needed surgical interventions have come from bites!" another shared. "Cats, dogs, humans. I can only imagine how bad this infection is going to be. He could lose his arm!"
"Stop harassing wildlife for views/likes," someone else pleaded. "It's sickening."
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