Simple etiquette and decency shouldn't just extend to other people; animals deserve the same level of respect.
For some zoogoers and tourists, animals are treated less like living organisms and more like props to be played with.
YouTuber Tom (@TravelTomTom) posted a short video showing a clear example of this at the Chamarel Seven Colored Earth Geopark in Mauritius.
In the video, an older man climbs a small wooden barrier to get up close with a massive tortoise in captivity. After that, he repeatedly knocks on the tortoise's shell.
"Please don't be this tourist," Tom said in the video text.
Doing this to a captive — or even wild — tortoise is disruptive and stressful for the poor reptile. Tortoises are sensitive to repeated stimuli, so reckless behavior like this can cause fear, confusion, and long-term trauma.
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When animals are treated as entertainment, their well-being is sacrificed for fleeting amusement, social media content, or careless curiosity.
It was also extremely dangerous for this tourist to ignore the animal barriers set up for this exhibit. If a zoo animal is separated from physical human interaction, it is for a good reason. Doing this only encourages other zoogoers to join in and could lead to a horrible accident.
What's also so disheartening about this video is how many people saw the man violate all these rules, yet no one seemed to have any urgency to alert members of staff.
One commenter was quick to point this out: "Need to call people out on stuff like that and not just sit and film."
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Absolutely 👍 Other users were astonished by the tourist's lack of empathy.
One witty commenter said, "I would have reached over that fence and tapped on that blue hat several times."
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