Man Thinks He’s Special Enough To Pet A Lion, Ends Up With A Severe Injury
All of us are well aware that animals can be dangerous, especially the perfect hunters and predators like big wild cats. Though despite tigers, lions and jaguars are regarded as some of the world’s most dangerous animals, all the cuddly lion videos or frequent visits to the zoo might strip our guards down and make it seem as if all the big felines are nothing than just family-sized pet animals.
One of the people who experienced an unfortunate reminder of how perilous those exotic pets can be is Pieter Nortje, a 55-year-old artisan at SA Truck Bodies in Bloemfontein. He was visiting the Tikwe River Lodge in Virginia, South Africa with his wife Ilze where the pair were celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.
A man was mauled by a lioness while trying to pet it in South Africa
As the two were given a guided tour of the lions at the game lodge, Pieter decided to get closer to the lions and pet them. As the 55-year-old stuck his arm through the fence to pet lions, one of the felines bit into his arm and started dragging.
The horrifying incident was captured on camera by Ilze. It shows Pieter playfully chatting with the animals, absolutely oblivious to the dangers of a lion’s attack. As he pets the male lion, Nortje can be heard saying, “If you bite me, then I’m going to bite you back,” as if he was foreshadowing what was about to happen. Though despite male lion responding well to the man’s touch, soon things turn south as the lioness approaches and instantly grabs hold of Pieter’s outstretched arm, hanging from a hole in the fence.
Image credits: Pieter Nortjé
The animal’s teeth reportedly sunk deep into the man’s arm, reaching bone as the lioness held him for a couple of seconds. As the wife screamed “It’s biting him, it’s biting him!” the man finally managed to get his arm out of the animal’s grasp. He was immediately transported to the Katleho Hospital in Virginia and later transferred to the Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein. According to news24, Nortje is suffering from septic shock and is in serious condition. One should never forget that you cannot make a domestic animal out of a wild, ferocious hunter.
Watch the full video below (WARNING: Graphic content)
After watching the video, people had mixed opinions about the incident, with some expressing sympathy and other condemnation
120Kviews
Share on FacebookHohh boy. They had better not hurt the lioness for the man's dumb actions, she's an animal and a predator, he should have known better. Of course I feel bad that he got bit, but people like that shouldn't be allowed near dangerous animals.
Nope, he's still alive. Not for long though, if we can extrapolate his everydays' activities from this video.
Load More Replies...Dude. I'm not even an adult and I have enough common sense to know that you shouldn't put your WHOLE F*****G ARM IN A CAGE FILLED WITH LIONS AND LIONESSES! HOW CAN ONE BE THIS F*****G STUPID???
This is a lesson some people just can't seem to learn. Wild animals are NOT pets. To big cats, people are food.
People often don't get that. It use to be were the stupid would die before breeding, but now the stupid get to grow up and the human race is weaker every time they have a kid. Cloudy gene pool today.....
Load More Replies...As a former safari guide, I can tell immediately that the lioness was in a posture of aggression. Of course, since I would never be sticking my fresh-meat-dinner arm through the wire, I wouldn't have needed to use that knowledge. Note in the picture of him holding a tiny cub below the video that he is already missing the ends of two fingers on his left hand. Apparently, this isn't the first time he has diced with disaster.
Once my brother got closer to a tiger cage than he was supposed to, and a male peed on him 🤣 he didn't do that again...
PS it basically peed through the fence by just lifting it's tail and peeing directly horizontal onto him
Load More Replies...I'm with Brittany Breaux and Kostas, this is a prime example of natural selection XD
I love this, someone up above asked "have you ever met a cat that didn't bite you?" Nope. My cat is literally my baby, he is pampered, loved on, coddled to, and he bestows his affection when and IF he wants to. How many times have I reached over to pet him and he puts his mouth on my arm like "NOPE" many, how many times has his less favorite humans reached out to pet him and he just bites their arm, too many to count. Moral of the story, cats are bitey, don't pet one you cant take in a fight.
Yes I have, several. Problems with biting, is commonly because the cat has been taken away from it's mother to soon as a kitten. A kitten should stay with it's mother until it's at least 12 weeks old.
Load More Replies...at least I hope the lioness does not risk to be put down because of this incident that is obviously not her fault
She's all but dead. Since he was holding that cub in one picture he's obviously at a place that breeds lions for tourist's photo ops. The lion & lioness have out grown their cuteness and are getting aggressive so most likely the male will be sold for canned hunting and she'll be used for breeding more cubs for humans to make money on. :(
Load More Replies...Never pet a wild animal. Unless you want to lose a limb or extremity, of course.
Lions aren't that soft and fluffy anyway. It's more like course hair. Er..... That's what somebody told me, anyway.
Cat bites are nasty, and I'm presuming the bites of big cats are no different. Their mouths are bacteria filled caverns. I'll be surprised if this guys doesn't lose his arm, or at least end up with a massive hole where they have to cut away the infected or dead flesh.
I think it would be a good idea for me to stick my arm in this lion enclosure and pet the lions. Oops! Maybe not. What's that saying? The only thing worse than a fool is an old fool.
poor lioness, it must be scary to be this close to being put down for one man's stupidity
Why? Just...why? I don't even shove my hand in the face of my neighbors house cat!!! I love kitties, but you just don't disrespect their personal space like that!
so close to thinning out the gene pool a bit.....I guess people are going to start demanding warning labels on lions now.
I am a professional magician, I was the entertainer at the Cincinnati Zoo for two years and have worked in the Animals (especially larger mammals) that are not domesticated should not be handled, they are dangerous! If you want to pet something pet a friendly dog, cat, rabbit with the caretaker present. It's why petting zoos don't keep lions, tigers, monkeys, apes, bears etc.
This man is already missing two of his fingers, it looks like he didnt learned his lesson !!!!
I'm not understanding what kind of situation this is that people can just amble right up to fences and stick their body parts in to touch the animals. Regular zoos have very clear barriers in place to keep people at a distance and they STILL get mauled because of their own stupid actions.
Everything inside the enclosure belongs to the lions. This rule is not negotiable, and is enforced by huge predatory cats.
But the lion is just shy and want to be adopted by him :( .........This is why it's so extremly important ot to think that animals is just furry little people. Se and treat animals like animals, it will be better for them and us. A cat is a cat, a dog is a dog, a lion is a lion, neither are humans and feel their own feelings, not ours. You don't adopt a animal, you buy them/ get them for free. You adopt kids.
I would never have a desire to reach into a lions cage and pet them. What kind of ego does that take. MORON
Now I probably wouldn't have been able to resist. The cause of my death will probably be me trying to pet something I shouldn't. (Or taking pics when I should be running away)
like i get wanting to pet them :P they are beautiful but why would assume the cats would be like "oh great. this is very chill"? glad he didn't get too hurt though.
What a pillock - you do not so much as even attempt to pet any wild animal - or animal that does not belong to you . Cow/bull - obvious. Horse - bite to hand/arm or a kick that can break a limb. Sheep - stupid., but can knock you over - teeth are rubbish. Pigs - will eat you whole. Donkeys? - one ate my engagement ring. Any sort of cat. Large birds - dangerous. ANY LION dangerous. Stupidity knows no bounds. Give the guy a Hippo. Speaking as someone who has been exposed to small mammals as a child - and encounterer larger ones later in life - keeping animals . Just DONT approach a wild animal.
What a stupid thing to do...this is the equivalent of touching s burner to see if it's hot.
Where are the original comments from? Just read one name that is the same as a girl who was in my class back then... Anyway, what he did was stupid. Although I understand that petting a giant cat may feel great ... they have a wonderful fur and stuff, you know ... it still is stupid. It's easy for a lion who really wants to to tear off your arm or leg, and they do not need being pet by humans at all, they're not used to, I guess it just feels weird to them - and even what a lion is considering playing can severely hurt a human.
Why can't people learn how to hold their phone correctly when recording video?
I agree, also I wonder if phones can be made to always film in 'landscape' by default, no matter how it is held, and only changes when operator switches manually? some kind of software to rotate lens.....I know basically nothing on how a modern phone works so this might be an impossible idea.
Load More Replies...Well... Technically, he WAS special enough to let a lion. He was very "special".
Every time this happens, I am amazed at the stupidity of the adult, not a child !!!
I'm actually not surprised that the male didn't bite him straight away. These lions are acclimated to close human presence, but instinct will dominate over acclimation. In the wild, the females of the pride do the hunting. And, I mean...it's rare when a meal just reaches out to pet you, y'know...
I think Pieter Nortje is quite a few light bulbs short of a chandelier. . . note in the photo with the kitten/cub his left hand is already missing 2 finger "ends". I assume he lost those while doing something similar in the past. Hey big cats, just whittle him down until there's nothing left, no loss to this world.
I am sure that there were visible signs warning of the dangers of getting too close to the animals and that you do so at your own risk. Wild animals always look so tame and cuddly behind the barriers. People forget that these are Wild Animals after all.
oh man, i live in brazil and this happen near my town.Some kid put his arm trough the tiger cage and the tiger ripped off his arm
BoredPanda: Now the site where you can come to make fun of stupid people.
I am shocked they only have hogwire between people an Lions . I don’t think this kind of fence is safe for dogs much less big cats., however what a stupid thing for a grown human to do. He is very lucky she let go
A wild cat, really, and it's fine to stroke it, stupid human, just glad he was ok or else the lion might have been put down !!!!!!
Wild life, is WILD! Pet a top predator, and be prepared for any consequences! Like bites! He is lucky he didn’t lose his arm, or have her maul his face through the fence!
It looked like he was missing the ends of a few fingers - guess he must have petted a few snapping turtles a while back!
Apparently he didn't see or hear about the woman taking a selfie with a panther. And ya'll know how that turned out. SMH
Look at that photo of the lioness, she went to the fence because she saw a sucker. If they make eye contact with you when they're that close to you, it's already too late.
It's just an unfortunate matter of not being careful enough that this is something cats do, not to be mean (that's the job of internet trolls adding insult to injury), but because it's just a natural inclination. They use their jaws as we use our hands, to grab things either to play with or eat, and before they give it much thought they can do some damage to our relatively fragile bodies. It's as much a part of their nature as it is a part of ours to want to pet them... the two just don't always work together well.
What gets me is man take these majestic animals out of their natural habitat to put them on display ! Then when these animals do what they do naturally because they are wild, they are more likely than not, killed!!! How about if the morons that place their body parts into their domain are slapped with huge fines. Then let's put them on display for a week!!!!
They certainly had better not have killed the lion. It may need to be placed well away from the public now. The game lodge is completely at fault for having such flimsy fencing that enables idiots to put their arms out for ‘lunch’ 🙄
They need a better barrier, people will always be this stupid but the animals shouldn't have to put up with it.
i know, right? where I live the zoo has at least two barriers between the visitors and the dangerous animals such as lions
Load More Replies...Good gravy, I wouldn't do that with my tabby kitten, Ollie. He's only 6 months old but he's fierce!
Driving down from Oregon I once saw a small herd of moose beside the road. And a daddy who was holding up his toddler a foot or so away from one moose that had a huge rack of horns. Or there are the people who stop to help a wounded deer by the side of the road. Large, hoofed animals can kill you.
Hohh boy. They had better not hurt the lioness for the man's dumb actions, she's an animal and a predator, he should have known better. Of course I feel bad that he got bit, but people like that shouldn't be allowed near dangerous animals.
Nope, he's still alive. Not for long though, if we can extrapolate his everydays' activities from this video.
Load More Replies...Dude. I'm not even an adult and I have enough common sense to know that you shouldn't put your WHOLE F*****G ARM IN A CAGE FILLED WITH LIONS AND LIONESSES! HOW CAN ONE BE THIS F*****G STUPID???
This is a lesson some people just can't seem to learn. Wild animals are NOT pets. To big cats, people are food.
People often don't get that. It use to be were the stupid would die before breeding, but now the stupid get to grow up and the human race is weaker every time they have a kid. Cloudy gene pool today.....
Load More Replies...As a former safari guide, I can tell immediately that the lioness was in a posture of aggression. Of course, since I would never be sticking my fresh-meat-dinner arm through the wire, I wouldn't have needed to use that knowledge. Note in the picture of him holding a tiny cub below the video that he is already missing the ends of two fingers on his left hand. Apparently, this isn't the first time he has diced with disaster.
Once my brother got closer to a tiger cage than he was supposed to, and a male peed on him 🤣 he didn't do that again...
PS it basically peed through the fence by just lifting it's tail and peeing directly horizontal onto him
Load More Replies...I'm with Brittany Breaux and Kostas, this is a prime example of natural selection XD
I love this, someone up above asked "have you ever met a cat that didn't bite you?" Nope. My cat is literally my baby, he is pampered, loved on, coddled to, and he bestows his affection when and IF he wants to. How many times have I reached over to pet him and he puts his mouth on my arm like "NOPE" many, how many times has his less favorite humans reached out to pet him and he just bites their arm, too many to count. Moral of the story, cats are bitey, don't pet one you cant take in a fight.
Yes I have, several. Problems with biting, is commonly because the cat has been taken away from it's mother to soon as a kitten. A kitten should stay with it's mother until it's at least 12 weeks old.
Load More Replies...at least I hope the lioness does not risk to be put down because of this incident that is obviously not her fault
She's all but dead. Since he was holding that cub in one picture he's obviously at a place that breeds lions for tourist's photo ops. The lion & lioness have out grown their cuteness and are getting aggressive so most likely the male will be sold for canned hunting and she'll be used for breeding more cubs for humans to make money on. :(
Load More Replies...Never pet a wild animal. Unless you want to lose a limb or extremity, of course.
Lions aren't that soft and fluffy anyway. It's more like course hair. Er..... That's what somebody told me, anyway.
Cat bites are nasty, and I'm presuming the bites of big cats are no different. Their mouths are bacteria filled caverns. I'll be surprised if this guys doesn't lose his arm, or at least end up with a massive hole where they have to cut away the infected or dead flesh.
I think it would be a good idea for me to stick my arm in this lion enclosure and pet the lions. Oops! Maybe not. What's that saying? The only thing worse than a fool is an old fool.
poor lioness, it must be scary to be this close to being put down for one man's stupidity
Why? Just...why? I don't even shove my hand in the face of my neighbors house cat!!! I love kitties, but you just don't disrespect their personal space like that!
so close to thinning out the gene pool a bit.....I guess people are going to start demanding warning labels on lions now.
I am a professional magician, I was the entertainer at the Cincinnati Zoo for two years and have worked in the Animals (especially larger mammals) that are not domesticated should not be handled, they are dangerous! If you want to pet something pet a friendly dog, cat, rabbit with the caretaker present. It's why petting zoos don't keep lions, tigers, monkeys, apes, bears etc.
This man is already missing two of his fingers, it looks like he didnt learned his lesson !!!!
I'm not understanding what kind of situation this is that people can just amble right up to fences and stick their body parts in to touch the animals. Regular zoos have very clear barriers in place to keep people at a distance and they STILL get mauled because of their own stupid actions.
Everything inside the enclosure belongs to the lions. This rule is not negotiable, and is enforced by huge predatory cats.
But the lion is just shy and want to be adopted by him :( .........This is why it's so extremly important ot to think that animals is just furry little people. Se and treat animals like animals, it will be better for them and us. A cat is a cat, a dog is a dog, a lion is a lion, neither are humans and feel their own feelings, not ours. You don't adopt a animal, you buy them/ get them for free. You adopt kids.
I would never have a desire to reach into a lions cage and pet them. What kind of ego does that take. MORON
Now I probably wouldn't have been able to resist. The cause of my death will probably be me trying to pet something I shouldn't. (Or taking pics when I should be running away)
like i get wanting to pet them :P they are beautiful but why would assume the cats would be like "oh great. this is very chill"? glad he didn't get too hurt though.
What a pillock - you do not so much as even attempt to pet any wild animal - or animal that does not belong to you . Cow/bull - obvious. Horse - bite to hand/arm or a kick that can break a limb. Sheep - stupid., but can knock you over - teeth are rubbish. Pigs - will eat you whole. Donkeys? - one ate my engagement ring. Any sort of cat. Large birds - dangerous. ANY LION dangerous. Stupidity knows no bounds. Give the guy a Hippo. Speaking as someone who has been exposed to small mammals as a child - and encounterer larger ones later in life - keeping animals . Just DONT approach a wild animal.
What a stupid thing to do...this is the equivalent of touching s burner to see if it's hot.
Where are the original comments from? Just read one name that is the same as a girl who was in my class back then... Anyway, what he did was stupid. Although I understand that petting a giant cat may feel great ... they have a wonderful fur and stuff, you know ... it still is stupid. It's easy for a lion who really wants to to tear off your arm or leg, and they do not need being pet by humans at all, they're not used to, I guess it just feels weird to them - and even what a lion is considering playing can severely hurt a human.
Why can't people learn how to hold their phone correctly when recording video?
I agree, also I wonder if phones can be made to always film in 'landscape' by default, no matter how it is held, and only changes when operator switches manually? some kind of software to rotate lens.....I know basically nothing on how a modern phone works so this might be an impossible idea.
Load More Replies...Well... Technically, he WAS special enough to let a lion. He was very "special".
Every time this happens, I am amazed at the stupidity of the adult, not a child !!!
I'm actually not surprised that the male didn't bite him straight away. These lions are acclimated to close human presence, but instinct will dominate over acclimation. In the wild, the females of the pride do the hunting. And, I mean...it's rare when a meal just reaches out to pet you, y'know...
I think Pieter Nortje is quite a few light bulbs short of a chandelier. . . note in the photo with the kitten/cub his left hand is already missing 2 finger "ends". I assume he lost those while doing something similar in the past. Hey big cats, just whittle him down until there's nothing left, no loss to this world.
I am sure that there were visible signs warning of the dangers of getting too close to the animals and that you do so at your own risk. Wild animals always look so tame and cuddly behind the barriers. People forget that these are Wild Animals after all.
oh man, i live in brazil and this happen near my town.Some kid put his arm trough the tiger cage and the tiger ripped off his arm
BoredPanda: Now the site where you can come to make fun of stupid people.
I am shocked they only have hogwire between people an Lions . I don’t think this kind of fence is safe for dogs much less big cats., however what a stupid thing for a grown human to do. He is very lucky she let go
A wild cat, really, and it's fine to stroke it, stupid human, just glad he was ok or else the lion might have been put down !!!!!!
Wild life, is WILD! Pet a top predator, and be prepared for any consequences! Like bites! He is lucky he didn’t lose his arm, or have her maul his face through the fence!
It looked like he was missing the ends of a few fingers - guess he must have petted a few snapping turtles a while back!
Apparently he didn't see or hear about the woman taking a selfie with a panther. And ya'll know how that turned out. SMH
Look at that photo of the lioness, she went to the fence because she saw a sucker. If they make eye contact with you when they're that close to you, it's already too late.
It's just an unfortunate matter of not being careful enough that this is something cats do, not to be mean (that's the job of internet trolls adding insult to injury), but because it's just a natural inclination. They use their jaws as we use our hands, to grab things either to play with or eat, and before they give it much thought they can do some damage to our relatively fragile bodies. It's as much a part of their nature as it is a part of ours to want to pet them... the two just don't always work together well.
What gets me is man take these majestic animals out of their natural habitat to put them on display ! Then when these animals do what they do naturally because they are wild, they are more likely than not, killed!!! How about if the morons that place their body parts into their domain are slapped with huge fines. Then let's put them on display for a week!!!!
They certainly had better not have killed the lion. It may need to be placed well away from the public now. The game lodge is completely at fault for having such flimsy fencing that enables idiots to put their arms out for ‘lunch’ 🙄
They need a better barrier, people will always be this stupid but the animals shouldn't have to put up with it.
i know, right? where I live the zoo has at least two barriers between the visitors and the dangerous animals such as lions
Load More Replies...Good gravy, I wouldn't do that with my tabby kitten, Ollie. He's only 6 months old but he's fierce!
Driving down from Oregon I once saw a small herd of moose beside the road. And a daddy who was holding up his toddler a foot or so away from one moose that had a huge rack of horns. Or there are the people who stop to help a wounded deer by the side of the road. Large, hoofed animals can kill you.
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