Screenshot via Twitter (@Tourism_gov_za)
The Department of Tourism celebrated World Wildlife Conservation Day in a tweet on Sunday, but left some confused with an image that included animals that were not indigenous to South Africa.
The image contained local animals, such as the African elephant, rhino, giraffe, ostrich, and zebra.
But it also featured an Asian elephant, a Russian Javan deer, a tapir, and a tiger.
The tweet, sent at 07:00 on Sunday, reads: “Today is #WildlifeConservationDay! An integral part of South Africa’s tourism offering, our wildlife remain one of our greatest assets. Let’s do our part by implementing sustainable practices in tourism”. sector . #ResponsibleTraveller #ShareSouthAfrica.”
Twitter users were scratching their heads regarding the image.
Some called it embarrassing and a “failure.”
A tweet from the tourism department that has since been deleted (Screenshot)
News 24
One user said: “My hat! @Tourism_gov_za seems to think we have Asian elephants, tapirs, tigers and deer among our (South Africa’s) wonderful natural assets.”
Another tweeted: “@SANParks come this way explain to @Tourism_gov_za #ShareSouthAfrica is unlikely to include sharing tigers and tapirs and maybe we should trade African elephants.”
Tourism department spokeswoman Susan de Bruin told News24 it was an international day “with a focus on wildlife from around the world, hence the image.”
The tweet was later deleted.
