Approaching Danger

Curiosity killed the cat - proverb

As described in the story Citizen journalism: 1, evolutionary instincts for survival: 0,

There was a massive gas explosion in Moscow that led to an inferno that injured
five people, raising questions about Russia’s ageing energy infrastructure and
the sanity of Russian civilians. … [In the embedded YouTube] notice how people
are not all running from the explosion; many are walking towards it, recording
the scene on their mobile phones

Humans are funny animals. They will panic over a disease that killed people in another country yet walk straight towards a local disaster. And I’m no different. I’ve always wanted to see a tornado so my inclination in college during a tornado alert was to go outside and look instead of sheltering instead and missing it. I still have not seen one.

When my wife and I visited Yellowstone National Park and the Canadian Rockies, we were warned about wildlife and “Bear Jams”. A bear jam occurs when someone sites a bear and everyone parks their car on the road shoulder and gets out to look. Now-a-days the bear is typically far away so in one case we watched as some foolhardy young visitors decided to hike closer to the bears. When a Park Ranger arrived, she was furious. She yelled at the hikers, chased after them and we could see her asking for their driver licenses (giving them a park ticket I suppose).

People appear to think of Yellowstone as a giant petting zoo. We watched photographers approach a mother moose and her child. Other tourists must have thought that the boarded walkways were a safe zone and would walk within feet of a wild bison while staying on the path.
Most animals in real zoos are not tame either. One extreme danger program on TV showed video of a woman who climbed two walls to get a better picture of a polar bear. The bear grabbed her leg through the cage bars with his teeth and wouldn’t let go. The zookeepers were pulling on the woman and trying to distract the bear. Fortunately her shoe came off and the bear let go to check it out. She was lucky to keep her leg.

Bottom Line

An important survival skill is to show proper respect for danger. We forget about risk when trying to get a better photograph or when rushing in to save a person. In a Red Cross First Aid/CPR class I just attended, the first step was always to evaluate the scene to determine if it was safe for you to approach an injured person. No point in you also being electrified, bitten by a rattlesnake, poisoned by gas or burned by a chemical and becoming another victim. The second step was to put on rubber gloves (to protect yourself) before touching the victim. You may save life but acquire HIV or Hepatitis.

Think before you leap towards danger.