5 ms·

Giraffes are dangerous right? I wouldn't want to be near one (or a Hippo, or an Ostrich, etc...)

KMag 5y ago
Giraffes can kick lions hard enough to kill them, or at least injure them enough to prevent lions from returning to effective hunting before starving to death. In my very limited experience (4 or 5 day safari in Kruger), Giraffes are pretty shy, but you really want to avoid startling them or otherwise putting them in a situation where they feel a need to defend themselves or their young.
- lumberingjack 5y ago
  Yeah but everyone thinks that lions are badass but they fail like 77% of their hunts so they're more like huge failures.
  - dotancohen 5y ago
    To be fair, what I'm usually hunting I don't eat, but I fail much more than 77% of the time. Probably most men do.
    - OJFord 5y ago
      But perhaps not when we actually depended on it, and had all the practice/experience that goes with that.
    - KMag 5y ago
      > To be fair, what I'm usually hunting I don't eat, Well, you don't know what you're missing, and it might be part of your problem. Just say'n.
      - dotancohen 5y ago
        :)
    - inglor_cz 5y ago
      You are also probably hunting alone. Lions cooperate.
      - dotancohen 5y ago
        Do you have plans for this evening?
        inglor_cz 5y ago
        Too hot here right now. Funnily enough, I am a Leo.
  - ashtonkem 5y ago
    That’s a pretty ridiculous way to measure predator success. Hunting is a high risk high reward endeavor; a predator can fail to kill in most hunts and still be a very successful species. For the record, it’s estimated that American deer hunters have a success rate between 6-13%, depending on the method and state. So lions are apparently more consistently successful hunters than humans with guns.
SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
Giraffes: not really dangerous. They graze on the tops of trees. I don't know much about it, which leads me to think that "giraffe danger" isn't a thing that gets talked about because it's not much of a thing. Ostrich: They're not bright - the bird's eyeball is bigger than its brain. Last ostriches that I saw were a whole herd that came up to the fence with open mouths in anticipation of snacks, which was kinda cute. I guess a large male could get aggressive and the kick would be very nasty? Hipppo: Very dangerous. They may be herbivorous but they're aggressive and territorial. They will flatten you if they're in a bad mood, and they're almost always in a bad mood. A hippo is 2 tons of bastard; and don't bother running, they're faster than you, on land or in water. Best to avoid them entirely. I'm not joking, google "most dangerous large animal in Africa", read about hippos and how they kill more humans than any other African animal larger than a mosquito.
- telesilla 5y ago
  Ostriches get very territorial, can kick and will chase you. Not recommended to enter an area keeping ostriches.
ashtonkem 5y ago
Yeah, I just couldn’t come up with something safer than that while also being big. Elephants are mostly safe, except the male ones occasionally snap and hunt humans. So…

KMag 5y ago

Giraffes can kick lions hard enough to kill them, or at least injure them enough to prevent lions from returning to effective hunting before starving to death. In my very limited experience (4 or 5 day safari in Kruger), Giraffes are pretty shy, but you really want to avoid startling them or otherwise putting them in a situation where they feel a need to defend themselves or their young.

lumberingjack 5y ago
Yeah but everyone thinks that lions are badass but they fail like 77% of their hunts so they're more like huge failures.
- dotancohen 5y ago
  To be fair, what I'm usually hunting I don't eat, but I fail much more than 77% of the time. Probably most men do.
  - OJFord 5y ago
    But perhaps not when we actually depended on it, and had all the practice/experience that goes with that.
  - KMag 5y ago
    > To be fair, what I'm usually hunting I don't eat, Well, you don't know what you're missing, and it might be part of your problem. Just say'n.
    - dotancohen 5y ago
      :)
  - inglor_cz 5y ago
    You are also probably hunting alone. Lions cooperate.
    - dotancohen 5y ago
      Do you have plans for this evening?
      - inglor_cz 5y ago
        Too hot here right now. Funnily enough, I am a Leo.
- ashtonkem 5y ago
  That’s a pretty ridiculous way to measure predator success. Hunting is a high risk high reward endeavor; a predator can fail to kill in most hunts and still be a very successful species. For the record, it’s estimated that American deer hunters have a success rate between 6-13%, depending on the method and state. So lions are apparently more consistently successful hunters than humans with guns.

SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago

Giraffes: not really dangerous. They graze on the tops of trees. I don't know much about it, which leads me to think that "giraffe danger" isn't a thing that gets talked about because it's not much of a thing. Ostrich: They're not bright - the bird's eyeball is bigger than its brain. Last ostriches that I saw were a whole herd that came up to the fence with open mouths in anticipation of snacks, which was kinda cute. I guess a large male could get aggressive and the kick would be very nasty? Hipppo: Very dangerous. They may be herbivorous but they're aggressive and territorial. They will flatten you if they're in a bad mood, and they're almost always in a bad mood. A hippo is 2 tons of bastard; and don't bother running, they're faster than you, on land or in water. Best to avoid them entirely. I'm not joking, google "most dangerous large animal in Africa", read about hippos and how they kill more humans than any other African animal larger than a mosquito.

telesilla 5y ago
Ostriches get very territorial, can kick and will chase you. Not recommended to enter an area keeping ostriches.

ashtonkem 5y ago

Yeah, I just couldn’t come up with something safer than that while also being big. Elephants are mostly safe, except the male ones occasionally snap and hunt humans. So…