A video of a man entering a closed-off crocodile enclosure at the Ramat Gan Safari in order to take pictures has gone viral the last few days.
The video shows the man getting dangerously close to the crocodiles with no permission and taunting them while photographing himself.
A man entering crocodile enclosure at Ramat Gan Safari
(Video: Courtesy)
The man is heard saying in the video: "I'm preying on the crocodiles," and "I went down to the crocodiles to devour them".
The Ramat Gan Safari is the largest collection of wildlife in human care in the Middle East, consisting of both a drive-through African safari area and a modern outdoor zoo.
The Safari is home to five Nile crocodiles which were born in 2012. The Nile crocodiles are the second largest reptiles in the world, native to freshwater habitats in Africa. This species can weigh up to a ton and live as long as 70, or even 100 years.
Director of Animals at the Safari Shmulik Yadov told Ynet that he met the man in the video and two of his friends, but was only notified of the events that had transpired afterwards.
"They were very curious," he said. "We spoke for a few minutes. They had a bit of knowledge. They were very polite and didn't arouse any suspicion. But when we saw the video later on, I wished I had something smart and educated to tell them about such a stupid act, simply irresponsible, wrong, and offensive."
Yadov said it's a miracle this didn't end tragically. "A person just does what comes to mind, and in this case it was for the purpose of some stupid likes and not for passing on a beneficial message," he said. According to Yadov, crocodiles are prone to hurting someone upon being taunted. "Crocodiles go from 0 to 100 in no time."
"There is a clear separation," Yadov said, describing the crocodile den, "There is a bridge that goes over a pool. We made sure this was clear in order to avoid entrance".
In the interview, Yadov warned not to go into the animal's cages in the Safari or in any other zoo. "We have to stop this, we can't let this encourage more people to try these tricks."
The Safari filed a complaint to the police. "We'll try to track him down, we're complaining and we've complained before, and we'll continue to do everything possible. We've succeeded in the past, we hope we'll reach him this time."