The search for the perfect shot on social media can turn into a waking nightmare, as a 57-year-old tourist who was the victim of an attack by a deer discovered the hard way. The episode took place in Villetta Barrea, a charming lakeside village located in the province of L’Aquila and protected by the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, where the man was on an excursion.
Having gotten too close to a specimen of wildlife with the intention of immortalizing the moment with a selfie, the visitor was suddenly charged and hit full on by the animal. The violence of the impact caused the fifty-seven-year-old to suffer severe abdominal trauma, prompting the 118 rescuers to promptly intervene on site for initial medical treatment. Given the seriousness of the conditions found, the hiker was stabilized and urgently transferred by air ambulance to the San Salvatore hospital in L’Aquila, where he is currently hospitalized with a reserved prognosis in the resuscitation department.
The previous alarms in Scanno and the harsh response of the local authorities
Unfortunately, this incident is not an isolated case in the region. In fact, only a few weeks earlier there had been a sequence of similar events in the nearby municipality of Scanno. As also documented by a viral video shot by zoologist Paolo Forconi, some holidaymakers had triggered the ungulates’ angry reaction by recklessly attempting to pet them, feed them or shoot videos at close range.
Faced with this dangerous escalation of tourist rudeness, the mayor of Scanno, Giovanni Mastrogiovanni, intervened by announcing a very strict ordinance to strictly prohibit approaching the animals, especially coinciding with the delicate mating season. In fact, let us remember that the fault of these accidents is never the fault of the local fauna: we are the ones invading their natural habitat and it is essential to maintain the right safety distances to prevent the wonder of nature from turning into a tragic clash.
