January 3, 2006	Tuesday	Zilhaj 2, 1426

JOHANNESBURG: A South African mugger fleeing the scene of his crime hides in a tiger enclosure. On the country’s coast, a woman attempts to be a good Samaritan by pushing a young seal into the sea, believing the poor thing is stranded.

Both people paid heavily for their stupidity, underscoring one of nature’s truisms: humans do dumb things around wild animals.

“I blame it on Walt Disney, where animals are given human qualities. People don’t understand that a wild animal is not something that is nice to pat. It can seriously harm you,” said James Cameron, a South African professional hunter.

The cartoon image of wildlife may have prompted a 49-year-old South African woman in October to try to help a seal which she believed was stranded, allowing her one-year-old grandchild to stroke the creature in the process.

The seal responded by biting off the woman’s nose.

Cape Fur Seals are common on South African shores and many have become accustomed to humans.

They are a popular tourist attraction and can be viewed playing in the sea by Cape Town’s waterfront — which may also give a false impression of placid friendliness.

‘Cute’ seal pups have also been used as potent symbols by groups such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare, further enhancing the animal’s ‘cuddly status’.

But they can in fact be dangerous and sometimes attack people who venture too close — as South Africa’s noseless do-gooder discovered to her horror.

Then there was the South African robber who made the mistake last month of taking refuge in an enclosure which turned out to be home to a pair of unimpressed tigers.

Unsurprisingly, he was mauled to death by the big cats.

The mugger was not the first South African criminal to err in hiding among zoo animals.

Max, a 200kg gorilla, won fame in 1997 after being wounded by a terrified gunman who jumped a moat into his space in Johannesburg’s zoo while fleeing police.

Max pinned the fugitive against the wall of his enclosure and guarded him even after being shot until police arrived, making him an instant folk hero in crime-ridden South Africa.—Reuters