Forcibly taking selfies with wild animals makes you the "worst kind of traveler" — travel experts slam the practice

▲ To avoid frightening or disturbing wildlife, it is advised that tourists "stop taking selfies with wild animals." (Photo /Travel+Leisure)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

During trips, many people enjoy taking selfies with scenery or fellow travelers; however, in recent times, there have been numerous reports worldwide of tourists forcibly taking photos with wild animals, often with tragic outcomes. These include a baby dolphin that died of dehydration after being handled by beachgoers in Argentina, a peacock in Yunnan that was scared to death, and sea turtles whose life cycles were disrupted. The travel websiteTravel+Leisurehas condemned this behavior as"the worst kind of traveler", urging everyone to stop taking selfies with wild animals and to refrain from interfering with their lives.

In February this year, on a beach in Argentina, a baby dolphin was pulled out of the water by swimmers eager to take photos and touch it. Eventually, the dolphin died from overheating and dehydration, and its body was even carelessly left on the sand. The deceased dolphin was a rare La Plata dolphin, one of the smallest species of dolphins in the world, with only around 30,000 remaining globally. Although some witnesses claimed the dolphin was already dead, the attitude of tourists scrambling for photos and then abandoning the animal is still worthy of discussion.

▲% A baby dolphin was pulled out by swimmers eager to take photos and touch it. Eventually, it died from overheating and dehydration, and its body was carelessly discarded. (Photo / Screenshot from “La Nacion” via Mega Oyun)

In the same week, two peacocks in Yunnan, China, were forcibly grabbed by tourists for selfies. During the process, they were held tightly and had their feathers pulled. One of the peacocks died of shock at just five years old — relatively young considering male peacocks can live up to 20–25 years — a tragic and premature end that left many saddened.

▲ A peacock was forcibly grabbed by tourists for a selfie. It was held tightly, had its feathers pulled, and eventually died of shock. (Photo / Screenshot from Weibo Live Yunnan)

Additionally, not long ago, a video circulated online showing a man dragging a shark out of the ocean to take a photo. In Costa Rica, tourists were also seen carelessly grabbing sea turtles for photos, severely disrupting the turtles' life cycles. It is reported thatsea turtle hatchlings, upon emerging from their eggs, must rely on themselves to crawl back to the sea with all their might. Though the distance is only a few dozen meters, they must evade predators such as seabirds and wild dogs, risk getting lost and drying out under the sun, or being eaten by fish in the ocean. Out of a clutch of 50 to 200 eggs, usually less than 1% survive. Humans have become one of the cruelest threats, making the situation truly heartbreaking.

Travel writers Erika Owen and Amy Schellenbaum from Travel+Leisure issued a solemn statement saying,"We urge everyone to stop taking selfies with wild animals!" What humans may see as a "warm gesture" often frightens and harms wildlife, and can be very dangerous for people as well.If one unfortunately harms wildlife that are the "natives" of these environments, they are denounced as: "You will be the worst kind of traveler!" They believe that when traveling, one should always remember two mottos:"Take only memories, leave only footsteps."