Safaris come with guides, fast-moving vehicles and general
built-in safety precautions. But what if you’re that one person who gets lost
from the group, and wanders into unsafe territory? It’s a big what if — too big
not to be prepared for it. Here’s how to meet a lion and escape with your life.
1. Dress carefully
In preparation for your safari, wear clothing that makes you look
nothing like lions’ typical prey. If you do not resemble a lion’s typical prey,
it probably won’t attack you. Lions tend to eat buffalo, elephants, zebras
and giraffes, so stay away from the stripes and polka dots. Try to
look scrawny. If you could be Indiana Jones that would help, but taking a
style cue from him is a good start.
2. When scrawny stops being good…
When a lion is at a distance, if you appear scrawny, he’ll be more inclined
to ignore you. However, if things progress to the point that the lion is
noticing you, agitated by you, and considering attacking you, then appear as
large as possible by taking a wide stance and hovering your arms up in the air.
The more you look like a challenge, the less likely the lion will be to
continue his pursuit. You can take off an item of clothing and wave it in the
air to appear even larger.
3. Stay perfectly still
A lion doesn’t want to attack just because he sees you. He will only attack
if he feels threatened or if your timing is really, really bad…like you caught
him at a time when he was hunting already…
4. Do not acknowledge the lion
Do not look at the lion and definitely do not point at him.
5. Check the tail, harbinger of bad
news
A tail that is doing a sweeping motion from side to side means the lion
might feel threatened or upset. A stiff tail that is occassionaly twitching
could mean the lion is currently on the hunt. Either of these are dangerous for
you.
6. Stand sideways
A lion does not want to fight you—he knows it could result in an injury
for himself. So before making any big decisions, see what the lion is doing.
Stand so your side is facing him so he knows you’re not trying to fight. If he
makes a lot of noise, growls and/or paws at the ground, he is most likely just
trying to scare you away. An actual attack will involve one long launch on his
part, and one big growl.
7. Wave your arms, clap and shout
You might feel frozen in terror, but usually yelling as loud as you can,
waving your arms and clapping them will make a lion turn around — hopefully
facing away from you. For good. And never looking back.
8. Hide behind a termite mound
If the lion has backed off, stop shouting and stop waving your arms. Back
away, still with your side facing the lion, into an open area. If you find a
termite mound (they can be as large as pictured above) hide behind that but
don’t go into a thicket. Do. Not. Go. Into. A. Thicket.
9. Move only when he doesn’t
Your movement upsets the lion. Only move away if he (or she) appears to be
calm. If he (or she) begins to move towards you, freeze again.
10. Under no conditions are you to
run
No matter what, do not run. Running ignites the lion’s predatory instincts.
If you run — the very thing human evolution has been preparing you to do
for just this moment — the lion almost certainly will attack. Usain
Bolt, the fastest human alive, can run 27.79 miles per hour, according to the
Smithsonian. A lion can run 50 miles per hour.
11. Light a torch
Lions are not afraid of fire, but that doesn’t mean they’re immune to it. If
you have a torch with you, light it. Fire might be your only weapon should the
lion attack.
12. Aim for the face
If it does come down to the lion fully charging at you, throw whatever you
have directly at the lion’s face. Aim for the eyes or anywhere that will cause
pain.
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