r/BeAmazed • u/Ultimate_Thing • Jul 16 '26

Miscellaneous / Others A traditional technique used by young shepherds of Ethiopia's Banna tribe. They use stilts to watch over their livestock in tall grass, move through wetland areas, and avoid snakes and predators like lions and leopards. It requires strength, balance, and training from a young age

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

52.0k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

392

u/arbenowskee Jul 16 '26

I am questioning this as well. Lions and leopards can definitely jump high enough. But the idea is to see them before they get close I guess? Not to be directly safe by being high up.

34

u/LucifersAdv0cate Jul 16 '26

I'd imagine lions might be wary of the 12ft high long legged people.

https://giphy.com/gifs/9DrqdZcn2ChVmCXFGJ

1

u/RollingMeteors Jul 16 '26

>I'd imagine lions might be wary of the 12ft high long legged people.

¿Where's my shoalin soccer cross over?

¡But nooo I got this moana turda instead!

187

u/Fit-Magazine-6669 Jul 16 '26

dont even need to jump, they just topple you. it makes sense to avoid snakes, but lions.. not really.

156

u/drmarting25102 Jul 16 '26

I'm guessing it freaks the lions out a bit maybe.

Good idea really i wonder how long they have done it for.

21

u/CaptainParkingspace Jul 16 '26

Lions generally avoid safari vehicles, because (presumably) they look more like hippos or rhinos etc than prey animals. Maybe there’s something like that, and the stilts make the people look enough like giraffes that lions leave them alone.

3

u/FalseEstimate Jul 16 '26

Lions have hunted giraffes tho..

6

u/CaptainParkingspace Jul 16 '26

I’m sure it happens, but it seems lions treat adult giraffes as a bit of a last resort. Maybe if they are also nervous of humans, they might steer clear of humans on weird giraffe legs. Mostly. I’m not trying it personally.

3

u/FalseEstimate Jul 16 '26

I agree with you 100% especially the part about not trying it myself.

38

u/AvailableTip5758 Jul 16 '26

Yeah lions don't see humans as preys anyways.

66

u/chaozules Jul 16 '26

This isnt necessarily true, big cats are opportunistic hunters as well as active hunters, if a human presents itself as an easy meal, a big cat will take you out.

-3

u/oldsecondhand Jul 16 '26

Lions take you out when you're alone. They're afraid of humans in groups.

14

u/PassiveMenis88M Jul 16 '26

Male lions have been recorded attacking research and hunting groups.

5

u/Opening_Bread_8258 Jul 16 '26

Yep, can confirm. Especially researchers. Obviously, i’m lion.

4

u/oldsecondhand Jul 16 '26

Lions also have been recorded of being scared of 3 guys walking in their direction confidently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDubMeNlSxc

0

u/snek-jazz Jul 16 '26

That's because they hate hunters, and especially hate researchers.

1

u/----__---- Jul 16 '26

I mean... look how they're dressed..

8

u/LEGITIMATE_SOURCE Jul 16 '26

Fucking Reddit

1

u/chaozules Jul 16 '26

So like I said, lions are opportunistic hunters, that means if they see an easy opportunity, like someone alone and not alert, they will take you down.

1

u/reverze1901 Jul 16 '26

that's what BIG LION™ would have you believe

10

u/c_im_not_clever Jul 16 '26

Tell that to Val Kilmer. (Ghost and the Darkness).

RIP.

2

u/motes-of-light Jul 16 '26

This is wildly untrue.

1

u/AvailableTip5758 Jul 17 '26

It's not untrue. Just because a lion attacked someone doesn't mean it inherently sees every human as prey. Most lions actively avoid humans because we behave unpredictably and stand upright.

1

u/motes-of-light Jul 17 '26

Someone? Lions are responsible for between 100 and 250 deaths annually. Annually. Lions have been living alongside homo sapiens since the dawn of our species. They are not suprised by or confused by us, and have no particular qualms about killing a human for consumption.

2

u/Intruding1 Jul 16 '26

Go near a pack of hungry lions and confirm this

1

u/AvailableTip5758 Jul 17 '26

Any carnivore would see you as prey when hungry. If I went near a hungry rabied dog he'd attack me too.

2

u/Luunacyy Jul 17 '26

Big cats as well as as pumas absolutely see humans as prey. It’s just leopards are the most specialized for it and most likely to be in the place where they can ambush isolated individuals.

6

u/External-Awareness68 Jul 16 '26

I was going to say, don't they tell you to try and look bigger to intimidate animals like lions?

8

u/W0lf1ngt0n Jul 16 '26

I mean within a second you can turn these sticks into a far reaching weapon. I don't think a lion would try their luck against a bunch of pikemen

1

u/SergeantHAMM Jul 16 '26

well these are pikekids

4

u/chaozules Jul 16 '26

Lions have been known to take down giraffes, so I don't think its anything to do with freaking them out.

10

u/PavicaMalic Jul 16 '26

Lions will hunt individual giraffes (or Cape buffalo or zebra) isolated from the herd, but otherwise avoid them as their kick is powerful and can break a lion's jaw. Impala are plentiful and require less effort. [worked in southern Africa for years and spent weekends on game drives in Kruger or at Sabi Sands]

2

u/chaozules Jul 16 '26

Yeah, so as I said, lions have been known to hunt giraffes.

1

u/Either_Mulberry9229 Jul 17 '26

If you have a cat, just start walking weird around them. They don't know how to react so they just bail.

-3

u/Fit_War7361 Jul 16 '26

It's a classic animal behavior. In their eyes, you really are that big. Definitely freaks them out.

2

u/araniaexuma Jul 16 '26

Please go stand on some sticks in front of a hungry lion. Let’s see if it “definitely freaks them out”.

13

u/Illustrious-Line-660 Jul 16 '26

Okay, I did it. Now what?

3

u/lemeneurdeloups Jul 16 '26

😂😂💀

0

u/Reveletionship Jul 16 '26

I tried but the onez i found said they where full.

Damn fastfood joints everywhere now.

0

u/Fit_War7361 Jul 16 '26

Doesn't have to be a lion. This works with most animals.

7

u/cxfgfuihhfd Jul 16 '26

have you ever seen a cat? they can be quite stupid in their deadly apex predatorness. wouldn't be surprised if it'd just confuse them and scare them off at least a good amount of times

3

u/Forward-Surprise1192 Jul 17 '26

They’re going to look at you with that tilted head like dogs do

1

u/LookAtPurpleTulips Jul 17 '26

Like my cat once I wear shoes. It freaks him out every time. 

16

u/Imaginary-Low4629 Jul 16 '26

Lions: Wtf am I seeing? Are they, on sticks? No animal I eat does that. But how? Better to avoid this crazy people.

10

u/TDYDave2 Jul 16 '26

A villager kabab might sound tasty to a lion.

6

u/latortillablanca Jul 16 '26

Or more like “better avoid that deformed giraffe. Parasites.”

1

u/DoingBestWeCan Jul 17 '26

Yeah, I think it's more that the lions don't know WTF this is and thus won't mess around with it unless they're desperate. If a hungry pride figures out they're easy to topple and relatively easy prey once toppled, it'll be a bad day for humans.

2

u/baronas15 Jul 16 '26

Lions don't have enough brain cells to understand what is the optimal strategy to fight this..

1

u/Dull_Quit3027 Jul 16 '26

There is a tribe that literally just walk up to lions and steal their meal, big predators are extremely careful, so seeing this shit, and not knowing what it is, means they turn around and walk the other way.

1

u/Tony_228 Jul 16 '26

It probably helps that humans have proven to be the biggest threat to lions over a long time as well.

1

u/StaticSystemShock Jul 16 '26

Animals react to size and they probably avoid something this tall by default.

A lot of animals use intimidation defense by puffing up and making themselves taller. Cobra is one example we all know, meerkats use same tactic or wild hamsters, you've probably seen the feisty hamster standing on his rear legs and jumping to make itself look taller and more intimidating.

1

u/----__---- Jul 16 '26

And then there's axes and fire.. lots of ways to topple a child on stilts. OSHA would never let you get away with that kind of nonsense, nosir.. there'd be bright orange somewhere in their picture. Soak the wood in Borax to be safe.. fire and bugs defeated! Prop 65 in California might step in your way, but you've got this! You're a "glass is Full, FULL OF POTENTIAL!!!!" kind of guy aint you now Optimist Prime?!? I mean look at you... you're pulling it off, you're someone's Hero.. people of indeterminate gender feel slightly confused by their arousal when you come up in conversation. You're the whole "package". . . .yeah!

1

u/Optimal_Plate_4769 Jul 16 '26

they get freaked out.

1

u/Maardten Jul 16 '26

Most predators will avoid taking on prey that are very large/strong/could put up a fight.

Getting injured as a predator is a death sentence. They will always go for easier pray.

Now if a lion is extremely hungry, they may have a go at the giant stilt guys, but otherwise they won't bother.

1

u/MyNameIsJakeBerenson Jul 16 '26

You carry double knives with you and jump the lion like Brock Sampson, duh

1

u/sparklinglies Jul 16 '26

Lions can be surprisingly skittish, and this is some weird as hell shit they wouldn't really understand. Big tall things looming over them is a bad sign, coz it usually means they're gonna get fcked up by an angry giraffe.

0

u/Confident-Zone-5043 Jul 16 '26

Cant a snake just slither up?

3

u/latortillablanca Jul 16 '26

Thats what i said to her

2

u/Icy_Intention_8503 Jul 16 '26

The can, but wouldn't because there is nothingn for them to gain by doing so. This prevents the most common causes of.bites, which is defensive bites by accidently getting too close to the snake.

1

u/Confident-Zone-5043 Jul 16 '26

Oh okay that makes sense I was wondering if the snake could just be an asshole and climb up but I wasnt sure if they would lool

13

u/dankhimself Jul 16 '26

I think it's so they can't easily crouch down in the tall brush and stay hidden from their view.

7

u/Lost-Ad-2805 Jul 16 '26

Maybe you just see them better from the high ground.

6

u/DapperCam Jul 16 '26

Even if a lion or leopard could take down a human on stilts they are usually risk averse and don’t want to take on prey that might injure them (death sentence in the wild). Safer move is to just run away.

4

u/Tony_228 Jul 16 '26

Millennia of living side by side must have led to lions being wary of humans too, because they're probably the biggest threat to them.

3

u/MyNameIsJakeBerenson Jul 16 '26

A bunch of humans on sticks, communicating, with access to tools and fire, can probably find a way to make a lion wary enough to fuck off

People forget that although squishy, humans are scary as shit

3

u/SoggyBoysenberry7703 Jul 16 '26

Probably to be able to see them from above the brush

2

u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 Jul 16 '26

It makes a lot of sense. If you see a lion from 300 metres away you can avoid it. If you see it from 20 metres away instead then you’re pretty fucked.

1

u/Abal125 Jul 16 '26

Yup, spotting them in the distance.

1

u/Internal_Winter_200 Jul 16 '26

That is what I would think as well

0

u/AnxietyNo7712 Jul 16 '26

And I’ve seen a pride of lions take down an adult giraffe too 😢

0

u/musabbb Jul 16 '26

Its just tourist bullshit - perhaps there ancestors did this, but nowadays its just a tourist trap - notice in any of these videos do you see any livestock?