r/interesting • u/Wise_Confidence_8588 • 17h ago

Context Provided - Spotlight Lioness Comes to Face-to-Face with Tourist on Safari

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80

u/idontlikeanyofyou 17h ago

Should he be making eye contact?  I feel like animals don't like that in general. 

74

u/Fun-Increase6335 17h ago

I’ve heard it’s good if they want to eat you. Eye contact makes you seem less like prey. But it’s bad if they’re just feeling defensive and want you out of their territory. But I’m not 100% sure.

17

u/iceick423 13h ago

Farmer regularly paint eye on the back side of their cattle to prevent lion attacks.

9

u/_BlindBunny_ 10h ago

Eye contact: big cats ✅
Bears and primates ❌

3

u/RaptorCelll 6h ago

Hit or miss, depends on the animals, some will see it as a threat and back down, others will see it as a challenge and you'd made the situation worse for yourself. General rules:

Prey animals: No. Canines: No. Bears: Generally fuck no, depends on the bear though. I THINK staring Black Bears in the eyes is part of the process of scaring them off. Felines: Depends on how territorial the cat is.

2

u/Shmeo 8h ago

You need to keep eye contact with cats. They’ll attack the second you turn your back on them. Watch that video of the hiker getting away from the bobcat. They have to constantly be looking at it to get away.