09 Dec Pushing Back Against Poaching: How Conservation Travel Helps Save Wildlife
A rhino crossing in Kanha National Park, India. ©Toby Sinclair
In the dry sal forests of India’s Bandhavgarh National Park, a Jeep picks its way over a rough dirt road flanked by thickets of bamboo. Suddenly, the driver rolls to a halt. “Shhhh,” he whispers, his finger poised at his lips as he surveys the underbrush, then points into the shadowy depths.
His guests know what they are looking for. Momentarily, they spy her too: the telltale orange and black stripes, blending almost imperceptibly with the tawny grasses.
Eyes grow wide. Grins spread. The tiger slinks into the open, ambling across the road. Breath catches. Cameras click.
These safari-goers know they are lucky. Though India’s national parks are the best places in the world to see wild tigers, sightings are still relatively rare. But the odds are getting better.
After a century of decline, tiger numbers are on the rise. The latest census, tracked through national tiger surveys in Asia, shows nearly 3,900 tigers in the wild, up from 3,200 just five years earlier. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) attributes this substantial growth to close coordination between governments, local communities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) who focused in 2010 on doubling tiger numbers by 2022— the next Year of the Tiger.
Such efforts are making inroads against habitat loss and rampant poaching: every part of the tiger, from its whiskers to its tail, is coveted in the illegal wildlife trade that fuels a multi-billion-dollar global criminal network.
But what travelers may not know is that we, too, are playing an important role in the tiger’s comeback — and those of other critically endangered species. Visitors to India’s parks help sustain the economies of neighboring communities. Our trips fund jobs through the building of lodges and the employment of guides, drivers and hospitality staff. Contributions from operators support local schools. Residents learn that a healthy, well-managed population of wild animals can be an asset rather than a detriment, and that natural resources are worth more intact than exhausted. A collective incentive to protect nature evolves…and wildlife numbers grow.
This is the goal of conservation travel, which moves beyond the low-impact goals of ecotourism by actively supporting the protection of nature and wildlife, while benefiting the people inextricably involved with both.
A Bengal tiger pads across a road in Kanha National Park, India. ©Toby Sinclair
Conservation travel is also making a difference in Africa’s safari countries. From rhinos to cheetahs to gorillas, wildlife is rebounding in spots where innovative programs are facilitating responsible safari tourism.
Namibia is a leading success story, showcasing the positive impact of a community-based natural resource management program initiated in 1996. Teaming up with NGOs like WWF, Namibia’s government established conservation areas that local people are charged with managing—and reaping the benefits from when wildlife numbers increase.
Predators like lions are often seen as a problem, and entrusting communities to protect and even rehabilitate a potential threat to their livestock seems counterintuitive. Historically, Namibians tending livestock would often shoot lions on sight. But given the option of using WWF-subsidized radio tracking equipment and paid staff monitors, many Namibians have sought to reduce conflict between big cats and livestock without resorting to violence. And they recognize that this puts them in a better position to capitalize on the economic benefits of safari tourism.
In the past 20 years Namibia has created 79 registered conservancies spanning 38 million acres, an ambitious undertaking that is succeeding due to the country’s enlisting local communities in the effort. Now, Namibia serves as a model for conservation that inspires other countries around the world.
A glance from a mountain gorilla. ©Eric Rock
The mountain gorillas of Rwanda and Uganda are a critically endangered species that might not be alive today without the passionate travelers who come to visit them in central Africa’s lush rain forests. Fewer than 1,000 mountain gorillas remain in the wild, facing extinction from the impacts of poaching, habitat loss, civil wars and disease.
National park entrance fees and costly gorilla trekking permits —$750 per person — help these countries pay for crucial ranger support and other means of shoring up the threatened population. Gorilla-focused tourism is carefully managed to minimize impact on wild gorillas while helping local communities thrive from their protection.
Most gorilla treks start from safari camps in Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda) or Bwindi Impenentrable National Park (Uganda). Small groups of up to eight guests join local guides in search of a habituated gorilla family group. They set off into the dense foliage, following trackers who look for signs of the gorillas’ presence: fresh scat, or crushed vegetation indicating a recent sleeping nest. Many trackers and guides are former hunters or poachers who have found greater advantage in keeping the gorillas alive. Influenced by community education projects, they have been encouraged to choose an economic pursuit that ensures a sustainable income while also protecting their fellow primates.
Visitors catching a glimpse of gorillas in Uganda. ©Patrick J. Endres
Using machetes to slash a path, one group of trackers eventually locates a big silverback and his family of 10 to 20 individuals. In those moments — the exchange of a gaze, watching youngsters playing in the trees, admiring a mother caring for her infant — time stands still. An encounter with these gentle, wild creatures, so like ourselves, is one of the most wondrous experiences the African continent has to offer. And it’s all the more special for visitors when we know our presence helps these rare animals survive.
As many African countries face a poaching crisis of monumental proportions, evidence mounts for the economic value of keeping wildlife alive. Big game like elephants and rhinoceros are lucrative incentives for attracting safari tourism, and worldwide efforts to protect them are growing. Be part of their future by joining an Adventure Collection company on the safari of your dreams! Look to Bushtracks, Micato Safaris and Natural Habitat Adventures for a wide range of options.
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