For some wildlife lovers, peering into a zoo enclosure or enjoying a safari safely ensconced in a vehicle isn’t quite good enough. After all, where is the thrill in seeing potentially dangerous creatures from a safe distance?
For the truly brave and intrepid animal fanatic, however, there are opportunities to get unnervingly close to the big beasts that could kill just as easily as cuddle. And these eight animal encounters are not for the faint-hearted…
Pet a cheetah
Where? Stellenbosch, South Africa
As novelty gimmicks for a winery go, having an on-site cheetah outreach programme is up there with the best of them.
A hectare of the grounds at the Spier Winery, a short drive away from Cape Town, has been set aside for the world’s speediest land animal.
The programme’s aim is to help conserve cheetahs in the wild by raising awareness of the problems they face. But to the average tourist, it’s all about the opportunity to get into the enclosure and run a hand up a dozy cheetah’s back. Staff are very careful to ensure that you only approach from a certain angle and that the cheetah is fairly calm, but you still get to pose for a photograph that makes you look like a fearless explorer.
Dive with great white sharks
Where? Farallon Islands, California, USA
It is possible to go cage diving across the world – other options include Mexico, South Africa, Tanzania and South Australia – but some of the biggest sharks make an appearance off the Californian coast.
For around eight weeks of the year, some enormous great whites make their way to the Farallon Islands to breed and calve their young before heading back out into the Pacific.
The islands, 42km off the coast of San Francisco, are not a good place to be if you’re a seal between September and November. But humans willing to get down in the cage and face the sharks head on are in for a real thrill.
Stroke a crocodile
Where? Kachikally Crocodile Pool, Gambia
The Kachikally Crocodile Pool contains supposedly sacred water. Being washed in it apparently makes women fertile.
Going in for a swim, however, would be a very bad idea. The pool is also teeming with rather toothy-looking Nile crocodiles.
But, if you believe the locals, some of them are rather tame. Legend goes that a witch put a spell on the crocs to prove that the pool was special, but the hard facts are that you can go and stroke one of them and the others won’t pounce on you while you’re doing so.
Charlie, a five foot Nile croc, is the tame one who is open to a pat and a handshake. Volunteering for this is unnerving enough, but seeing multiple other reptilian faces staring at you from close quarters while you do so is terrifying.
Canoe with hippos
Where? The Zambezi River, Zambia/ Zimbabwe
Of course, for crocodile-watchers, the Zambezi River has more than its fair share waiting on the banks and scuttling after prey.
But for those ploughing their way downstream, it’s the hippos that provide the biggest scares. The old adage of the hippo killing more people than any other animal in Africa is a complete myth (the mosquito takes that award by a comfortable margin), they aren’t to be played with.
Hippos are notoriously grumpy, and regularly manage to upturn boats. Canoes straying into the wrong territory are relative small fry.
Hippos also have very big teeth, and aren’t averse to taking a leg off a stray kayaker.
Therefore, when attempting to canoe down the Zambezi, a knowledgeable guide is essential. They know where the hippos like to hang out, and will go past at a safe distance.
Swim with stingrays
Where? Antigua, Caribbean
The chaps at Stingray City Antigua will insist that stingrays aren’t dangerous, but tell that to the family of Steve Irwin.
In truth, Irwin’s accident was something of a freak one-off. The barbs on a stingray’s tail can only be used defensively, and they’re generally placid creatures.
The Stingray City snorkelling tour takes visitors out to a shallow pool in the Caribbean Sea, where the stingrays are accustomed to human contact.
The guides demonstrate how best to approach the rays – from the front, unsurprisingly – and once briefed, snorkelers can wrap their arms around the rays. Just remember to smile for the camera as you enter the rather odd embrace.
Feed bears and tigers
Where? Canberra, Australia
The National Zoo offers a rather unique ‘Zooventure’ tour, which includes a couple of rather hair-raising activities.
Participants get to stand outside the cage of a 110kg Sumatran tiger, nervously holding out a piece of meat for it to chomp out of your hand.
There’s also the chance to enter the den of the brown bears, where they lick honey out of your hand.
In comparison, having a python slither over you is one of the more tame components of the two hour, $95 tour.
Track gorillas
Where? Bwindi National Park, Uganda
If a silverback gorilla is charging towards you, it pays to remember your guide’s advice. Get low, act submissive – and do it rather quickly – and you should be safe.
The problem comes from not knowing exactly where the gorillas are. The guides in the Bwindi National Park track the gorillas by following footprints and tree damage from the site where they were last seen. The forest is thick, but the moment that you first spot the big apes is magical – even if they can get a bit close for comfort.
British-based Gorilla Tracking Uganda organises a four night Gorilla Safari for GBP1,550 (AU$).
Ride a lion
Where? Lujan Zoo, Argentina
Lujan Zoo could be charitably described as brave – and uncharitably described as thoroughly irresponsible.
The zoo allows visitors to get disturbingly close to the big cats, and intrepid guests can get into cages to stroke some rather large tigers.
Most remarkable of is the opportunity to sit on top of a lion – one of them, called Alan, is apparently tame enough to take human riders.
It’s telling that the zoo’s keepers tell visitors that these activities are undertaken at their own risk, however.
This article was originally written for the Sun-Herald.
Copyright David Whitley
