Safari officials issue warning after disturbing find during autopsy of dead wildebeest: ‘[It’s] truly disgusting’

Lion Park Harare It is a sanctuary for lions and other wild animals in Zimbabwe, including wolves, jackals, monkeys, wild boars and bush pigs. It allows tourists to closely observe these animals, many of which are rescued from traps and the illegal pet trade.

Unfortunately, interacting closely with human tourists doesn’t always work out well for animals. According to the park’s Facebook pageOne of the wildebeest died recently and an autopsy revealed that five plastic bags were found in its stomach.

“It’s really disgusting and shameful for us to be so irresponsible,” one user commented on the post.

What happened?

“Today is a sad day at Lion Park Harare, we found one of our antelope dead in the park…” Lion Park Harare shared on Facebook. “After an autopsy, 5 plastic bags were found in his stomach! Therefore it is very important that all guests do not litter in the playground and use the bins provided!”

Why is this worrying?

Plastic pollution is a growing problem. By the way According to the United Nations Environment Programme, nearly 5 trillion plastic bags that are eaten by antelopes are purchased every year, and half of the plastic produced is disposable, that is, it is used once and then thrown away.

Ingesting plastic is harmful and unfortunately it is becoming more common among wild animals. A sick bear in Telluride, Colorado was recently euthanized, and an autopsy revealed that its digestive tract had been blocked with plastic for months.

What can be done about this?

As Lion Park Harare writes, it is important that guests visiting any animal sanctuary, nature reserve, national park or other similar nature-related tourism venues follow the rules and do not litter.

To be clear, we shouldn’t litter anywhere, but doing so around animals that may be endangered or threatened is particularly careless. Experiencing nature and observing wild animals is a wonderful privilege and should always be undertaken with the priority of causing as little harm and respect for nature as possible.

No one is perfect, but we can all learn from these cautionary tales. This means no littering, no animals approaching to take photos, and no countless inconsiderate acts that tourists unfortunately often engage in.