Why People Risk Their Lives For Zoo Selfies

It's sad that it only takes one idiotic person to ruin it for everyone else. When most people see a fence they know it is there for a reason and zoos should not have to build them up higher to keep the odd few ****** getting too close (this is an unnecessary expense and also reduces viewing opportunities for visitors). I do agree with the idea that people have become dissociated from wild animals in that they do not see an animal in a zoo as a representative of a wild animal, just because an animal is managed in a captive environment it is by no means tame or domesticated (people can be, and have been, killed by zoo animals the same as animals in the wild). As the article states the people that own wild animals privately make them look no different to your cat or dog but what they often don't reveal is how many times they cause injuries or death.
 
It is stupidity. The dangerous selfie (zoo or elsewhere) is a new phenomenon brought on by smart phone cameras and social media. It's a problem for sure, but I wouldn't say it's an epidemic. I think the rarity of the event is what caused it to get headlines. The article says there were 259 selfie deaths between 2011 and 2017 (few or maybe none of these were at a zoo). While it is tragic, it is statistically insignificant. Many times more people are killed every day in car accidents around the world. More people die annually from cancer or mosquito-born malaria or a host of other issues. I am not downplaying the significance of those 259 deaths for the families of the loved ones, I am just trying to put things in perspective. The saddest part is these deaths are avoidable and the victims bring it on themselves.
 
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