A good safari can become one of your best experiences of wild nature, getting you as close to it as possible. If you plan your trip thoroughly, you won’t harm yourself, your wallet, or the nature you’re about to visit. However, everything that has advantages usually has some disadvantages as well, and safari isn’t an exception, ecology-wise.
Advantages of a Safari
Here are some of the pros:
- The money you spend saves animals and nature.
Well, at least a part of that money really helps wildlife and its natural habitat remain untouched. Tourist spending aids African countries in covering the expenses they need to preserve ecology. - After visiting Africa, you look at it differently.
It’s heartbreaking to see that so many people still think Africa only has undeveloped tribes and Ebola. There is civilization and going there isn’t dangerous, there are well-developed countries and a lot of natural wonders to see. Spreading awareness of that makes the continent more approachable, and from there we go to the first point about money again. - Such activities raise awareness of endangered species.
Money is good, but changes in people’s minds towards the fact that we’re killing the life diversity of our world off is just as important. Many people get so amazed by what they see on safaris that their actions back at home become more eco-friendly.
Disadvantages of a Safari
Although I think the advantages are still stronger, here are the cons:
- You may leave a huge carbon footprint by traveling that far.
To get to Africa, you need to fly miles and miles, leaving a considerable carbon footprint. Also, touring the continent needs transportation, and it’s rarely ecologically friendly. More information can be found over at https://www.cooleffect.org/carbon-footprint-of-flying-everything-you-need-to-know, but you should know that some contribution to air pollution is inevitable, unfortunately. - Not all the tourists are eco-friendly or at least respectful when going on a trip.
Not everyone understands eco-tourism, for some reason they think they can leave junk everywhere and disrespect the rules of preserved areas. While one person doing that usually isn’t a threat, just imagine how many people behave that way. - On rare occasions, safari may be stressful for both tourists and animals.
Safari gets you close to wild nature, but sometimes the encounter may be too close. Such experiences may bring a lot of stress both to you and to the animals you visit. Technical issues, insufficient knowledge about the weather conditions, a bad guide – all these factors may make your journey unpleasant if not dangerous.
Be mindful, plan your journeys ahead, make sure your carbon footprint is small and your obedience to the rules is big. This will help you experience an amazing journey and improve wild nature conditions.
