The Hippo vs the Security Guard

Even after decades in the field, visitor reactions to animals continue to baffle me.  I've seen visitors run - I don't mean "back away quickly," I mean run, as if all of hell was at their heels - from the most harmless of animals in a contact yard, or ask me, between frightened gasps, whether the tiny turtle I was holding could hurt them.  And then, on the flipside, I've seen people get themselves into the most dangerous of situations (usually by crossing a barrier) with a complete lack of concern.

Take these folks at this zoo, who are about to find themselves getting a much closer look at a hippo than most people should really experience.  Not a care in the world.  If that guard hadn't come onto the scene (and perhaps taken a bit direct of an approach to getting the behemoth back in its - seemingly inadequately barriered - habitat), who knows how this would have played out.