Currently, people are crazy about an animal caretaker kissing, caressing, and cuddling with dangerous big cats like lions, tigers, and jaguars on TikTok.
If you search #bigcat on TikTok, a series of videos will appear with a woman playing and caressing many wild cats like lions, tigers, and jaguars. This woman is Safari Sammie, an animal caretaker, with a huge following on Youtube and TikTok. Her accounts are a treat for animal lovers, as Sammie frequently posts videos with bears, jaguars, and hyenas.
She has clarified on her account that these are not pet animals. Rather, Sammie works as an animal caretaker for an organization called Single Vision. The goal of this organization is to protect endangered wild species, along with educating the public about the importance of caring about the vanishing wildlife.
Her most famous video received more than 22.5 million views. In that video, she captures a jaguar’s response to the scent of a catnip. Catnip or Nepeta cataria is a herb that activates the opioid systems of large cats. This effect is similar to how humans respond to heroin and other similar intoxicants.
More about big cats on TikTok
Even though many people can not get enough of this account, others are urging for a ban on this account, as apparently such human interaction between wild animals is not common. Many concur that the animals in the videos look unhealthily obese, which means they are being overfed to suppress their hunger. Consequently, the caretaker is able to interact with them so closely.
Others are also concerned about the location where these animals are being kept and the consensus is that the area is not so big. This means that the animals are living in smaller spaces, which is harmful as wild animals are meant to live freely in large spaces.
