The dangerous art of the ultimate selfie

 If 2014 was the year of the selfie, then 2015 took the art of self-photography to a new and dangerous level.

People are, quite lite
rally, dying to take a picture of themselves.

In Russia this year there have been a handful of selfie-related fatalities, including the death of two men in the Ural Mountains who posed for a photo while pulling the pin from a hand grenade.

And, in June, a university graduate died after trying to take a selfie while hanging from a Moscow bridge.

Most recently a 17-year-old boy fell to his death from a rooftop as he tried to take his picture for his Instagram page.

He had previously taken a number of similar pictures of himself posing on high rooftops in the city of Vologda.

The problem isn't just limited to Russia. In the US recently a man died after shooting himself in the neck while taking a selfie.

At least 12 people have died this year while taking pictures of themselves making the practice more deadly than shark attacks, of which there have only been eight recorded deaths in 2015, according to tech news site Mashable.

The statistic is creating very real problems for governments.

In August, officials at the Waterton Canyon in Colorado were forced to close the park after several people were caught getting a little too close to the wildlife.

"We've actually seen people using selfie sticks to try and get as close to the bears as possible, sometimes within 10 feet [3 metres]," said recreation manager Brandon Ransom in a blog.

And, at Yellowstone National Park, officials issued a warning after five separate incidents of selfie-takers being gored by bison.

In Australia, a rock that looks like a wedding cake was fenced off because too many people were climbing it to take pre or post-wedding photos of themselves.