How to behave during a safari

Today we are at the Kruger National Park in South Africa and, during the sighting of a pride of lions, we witnessed an inconceivable incident: a man got out of the car!

We did not want to believe our eyes, but how did it come to his mind to get out of the car with the lions 15 meters away?

The lions were frightened and, fortunately, they went away, but what if they decided to attack him? They would probably have been so fast that he would not even notice it.

Many travelers unfortunately underestimate the environment they are in when they are on safari, or, perhaps, they do not read the regulation of national parks, there is also to say that when you enter certain national parks, such as in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, usually you are not put on notice about the attitude to keep, probably taken for granted that those who enter already know what to do ...

But how should you behave during a safari?
There are some simple rules that it is good to follow.

First of all it is good to keep in mind that the environment must be respected, so you should not throw anything in the park, neither cards, plastic bottles, cigarette butts, or food debris; the risk is that they could pollute the ecosystem of the park or the animals could eat them.

So keep a bag in the car to collect the garbage and then throw it in the appropriate bins, they are both in the camps and in the picnic areas.

Another very important thing: you can get off the car only in the camps, in the picnic areas and where it is indicated by a sign, otherwise it is not allowed to go down for security reasons; animals can be everywhere, even when you cannot see them.

The danger does not only concern a predator like the lion, the leopard, but also elephants, buffaloes, rhinos and hippos that, besides having a respectable size, can become aggressive if they are frightened, but also an impala or a kudu or another antelope, if scared, might try to defend itself by attacking, and receiving a girdle is not very pleasant.

It is important to respect the speed limits because the animals are unpredictable and could cross the road at any time, if you respect the limits and if you pay attention you do not run the risk of investing them; it is also difficult, if not impossible, to make sightings if you are traveling at a high speed.

In the national parks you do not go off-track, you only stay on the roads and on the marked tracks, this not only to not overly disturb the animals, but also to not destroy the soil, the vegetation that grows there and the animals that live there, for example, the terrestrial birds that nest on the ground, a series of animals, such as warthogs and aardvarks that have their burrows in the ground and a series of arthropods that live on ground and that are fundamental for the ecosystem.

When approaching the animals it is necessary to maintain a safe distance, above all in order not to disturb them and not to unnerve them.

Particular attention must be paid to the occurrence of certain species such as buffaloes that are aggressive and attack if frightened; their danger lies in the fact that they do not give warnings when they are about to attack; even the elephants must be approached with caution, you must keep a certain distance, especially if in the herd there are puppies or if you meet solitary males, finally when you sight an elephant it is likely that somewhere there is the rest of the herd and, maybe unintentionally, with the car we are separating them, in which case they could become aggressive.

It is good not to scream or listen to music at high volume, always to not scare the animals that could escape.

You must respect the schedules, you cannot drive in the parks before dawn and after sunset; the entrance gates to the parks close at a certain time, within which you must exit; also the inside gates of the camps close and you must be inside before closing.

These are simple rules and common sense that everyone must follow in order not to transform a memorable safari into something unpleasant to remember.