A herd of elephants on a road in the Kruger National Park. Picture: Unsplash
Social media users are calling on South African National Parks (SANParks) to implement tighter measures and act against tourists breaking the rules in the Kruger National Park.
This follows a video posted on social media platform X, in which two tourists can be seen hanging out of a vehicle while filming elephants in the park.
@SANParksKNP Do your thing,the vehicle Registration is there and they’re still in the Park.#KrugerIdiots pic.twitter.com/R1p6Bn74Dy
— The Real KING OF THE JUNGLE (@EdwardthembaSa) August 16, 2024
In the video, taken by another visitor and posted by @EdwardthembaSa, the tourists in a Mercedes Benz V-class minibus can be seen leaning out the vehicle to film the animals.
According to SANPark rules, no part of your body may protrude from a window or the sunroof of a vehicle, while doors must be kept closed at all times.
“In most national parks, there is possible threat from dangerous animals. In such, guests may only alight from vehicles in designated areas,” the SANParks website states.
Reacting to the video, social media users called on SANParks to make sure the incident does not go unpunished.
@SANParksKNP please do something as mostly these incidents goes unpunished that’s why they continue.
— The_G_PI (@khanyisa_bvuma) August 16, 2024
@khanyisa_bvuma said: “@SANParksKNP please do something as mostly these incidents goes unpunished that’s why they continue.”
I can't understand how people take such risks even after they were warned, adviced and probably heard about the stories of wild animals attacks.
— Gift VI (@GiftMarake1) August 16, 2024
Another user, @GiftMarake1, said: “I can’t understand how people take such risks even after they were warned, advised and probably heard about stories of wild animal attacks.”
There are baby ellies in that herd. What if the matriarch felt they were threatened by these people's presence and charged the vehicle, followed by other adults. The outcome would have been disastrous, and the elephants would have been blamed!
— Scarecrow 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 (@Scare_the_crow) August 16, 2024
@Scare_the_crow said: “There are baby ellies in that herd. What if the matriarch felt they were threatened by these people’s presence and charged the vehicle, followed by other adults.
“The outcome would have been disastrous, and the elephants would have been blamed!”
What's going on in the #Kruger NP?
— City's🐘 for Elephants & Rhinos🚩 (@CitysFElephants) August 16, 2024
Recently, you've been seeing tourists and their bad behavior all the time. It's terrible when people are harmed by wild animals. Then it's usually the animals' fault and they have to suffer.@SANParks @SANParksKNP https://t.co/rPN9rRhO1T
While @CitysElephants said: “What’s going on in the #KrugerNP? Recently, you’ve been seeing tourists and their bad behaviour all the time. It’s terrible when people are harmed by wild animals. Then it’s usually the animals fault and they have to suffer.”