Here are some general advices to follow:
If you are in a vehicle, always stay in your car when driving in a game park. Get out only at special hides and do not break the rules that will be declared. As it is common to hear about several fatalities that have occurred because a luckless tourist has wandered out of his vehicle, camera in hand, so to get a closer shot of an elephant or lion. It may sound ridiculous, but that happens from time to time. Don't stand up or stick anything out of the car. Many safari vehicles are open-topped and the wildlife is generally adjusted to these. But, if you stand up or wave something around on the side, some animals may get annoyed and hence aggressive. You also have to remember that poaching is usual in many areas and anything that looks like a gun can provoke to a very dangerous response from a wild animal. You should drive slowly and carefully. If you drive in wet season the grass can get quite high and it's sometimes hard to tell when a large buffalo or elephant will appear in the middle of the road. You should stop if this happens. Buffalos and elephants are not those animals that are afraid or stricken by you or your car. You should also keep your windows up. If you are in a car with windows, it's better to keep them closed. As some animals are so habituated to cars they can easily leap up on it and damage your roof.
If you are on foot, you will be consulted on safety by your guides. But, you may encounter wildlife when you'll be walking alone in Africa without a guide, for example to run into elephants in the middle of town. Baboons are also a danger in many places and actually they are larger than most of us might think. So here are some basic advices if you meet the wildlife eye to eye. First of all, try and stay downwind from the animal. If the animal catches your scent it will know you are there and nobody knows whether this fact will scary it or make angry. If an animal you approach looks hostile try not to be in the way of its escape route. Give the animal a clear way and keep silent not to further worsen the situation. Do not run when returning. If you see any animal annoyed by your presence move back slowly and quietly.
You should avoid swimming in rivers or lakes unless you are 100 percent sure that there are no hippos or crocodiles. Hippos are actually the most dangerous of all the big animals. They feed on the banks of the river and if they sense danger, hippos will attack everything that stands in their way in order to get back to the safety of the water.
If you camp out in the open always take something covering you even if it's just a mosquito net. Hyenas may search in camps for left food and are especially attracted to prominent objects, so try to keep your body inside that tent or net.
Remember to wear boots and socks when walking around the bush. There are numerous venomous snakes and scorpions creeping around that could bite you.
Try not to walk around at night there where the wildlife is present that can be potentially harmful to you. That also concerns the beaches around lakes where hippo graze, between tents on a camping safari and even in towns. You may encounter wandering hyenas around freely even in some capitals, so always be cautious.
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