Authors: Jeremy Dertien (Clemson University), Courtney Larson (University of Wyoming), and Sarah Reed (Colorado State University) Millions of Americans are traveling this summer as pandemic restrictions wind down. Rental bookings and crowds in national parks show that many people are headed for the great outdoors. Seeing animals and birds is one of the main draws […]
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Category: Responsible Travel & Tourism
Wildlife Volunteering — Expectations, R
Wildlife Volunteering — Expectations, Reality, Responsibility Sharan Bahra, Earthwise Aware‘s Vice-President, was recently in Kenya, where she helped a conservation organization focused on protecting both giraffes and lions. In an EwA post series, Sharan shares about the many facets of volunteering for wildlife conservation. Previously, she wrote about the difficulties of finding ethical conservation venues, […]
Volunteering in Kenya – Choosing the Rig
Volunteering in Kenya — Choosing the Right Programme Sharan Bahra, Earthwise Aware‘s Vice-President, was recently in Kenya, where she helped a conservation organization focused on protecting both giraffes and lions. Here is her first post of a series, where she shares about the difficulties of finding ethical conservation venues, and how she led her research […]
Cub Petting: Cute and Harmful…
Before considering cub petting or volunteering in a facility that allows close interactions with cubs, pause, research and think about the consequences… Many animal lovers choose to ‘volunteer’ at cat parks and sanctuaries that are nothing but big cat breeding & cub petting facilities posing as conservation enterprises. This includes lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, and even jaguars in […]
Is That Selfie Really Worth it? Why Face...
Is that selfie really worth it? Why face time with wild animals is a bad idea The phenomenon of kangaroo selfies hit the headlines earlier this month, when several tourists were injured while feeding wild kangaroos in Lake Macquarie, north of Sydney. They may have wanted a memorable holiday snap, but ended up with rather […]
Never Fear to Ask —It Could Spare a Life
You see something that you don’t understand, or that concerns you… Should you ask? Is there such thing as a naive question? The answer is ‘Yes’ you should ask. And ‘No’ there are no naive questions when the welfare of animals is at stake. Dare to ask, and engage in a respectful discussion with the […]
Get your ‘Bear’ings & Keep your Distance
Get your ‘Bear’ings & Keep your Distance In the wild, remain vigilant in all circumstances and certainly so when you roam in bear country! Having traveled quite a few remote and wild places I am becoming relatively good at it. However one late afternoon, I relaxed my attention after a long trek in the mountains […]
Esteros del Iberá —Rewilding & Inspiring
“Sustained by values that are based on an eco-centric view of the world, prioritizing the importance of ecosystems and all forms of life therein, regardless of their use to man.” (Excerpt from the Conservation Land Trust’s mission) Esteros del Iberá —Rewilding & Inspiring My mom stumbled upon Esteros del Ibera (the World’s second-largest freshwater reservoir) […]
Should I Worry About Shark Attacks?
I am going snorkeling and diving. Should I worry about sharks? Worried? It depends. But in all cases, you should be prepared and know your sharks. How Likely Are Shark Attacks? Source: Shark Attack FAQ (Florida Museum). Of all the existing species of sharks, only about a dozen should be considered dangerous when encountered. White, bull, […]
The Red Apes of Bukit —How Ethical is Or
The Red Apes of Bukit —How Ethical is Orangutan Tourism? After two days of flying across the world, we finally arrived! We were now a few miles away from where some of the last Sumatran orangutans are surviving. Maybe a mother and her infant were even peeping through the canopy across the river right when […]