Wildlife Operators

Specialist Reports Special Interest Holidays Wildlife Operators 

Safaris are the classic animal-watching holiday (see the separate report) but there are other options such as whale watching, tiger trekking, seeking out lemurs and watching polar bears ? among others. All have their advantages and disadvantages but particularly important for parents is that most, because in malaria and yellow fever free zones, do not involve the health risks of most safaris.

We have focused here on specialist tour operators but it is worth bearing in mind that none recommends birding trips, as these require more concentration and quiet than the average child can muster.

It is worth remembering that it is becoming clear that eco-tourism might be endangering wildlife. The problem is that experts now believe that wildlife can pick up illness from contaminated rubbish heaps created by visitors. Examples are mongoose in Chobe National Park in Botswana and in the Kalahari which have contracted tuberculosis. Human TB is not known to be carried by any animals in the region so tourists are the likeliest suspects.

There are further problems with visitors who do not understand how knife edge survival is for some of the animals they are seeing. In the Antarctic for example visitors have to be warned not to approach penguins which have so little energy that even a rise in their heart rate caused by anxiety as humans approach could mean that they have to abandon the egg they are incubating to seek food ? simply in order to survive.

It is possible that simply in order for these species to survive, contact with humans may have to be reduced.