Search Results (5)

Wildlife sanctuaries have gained popularity in recent years as settings for research into human–animal relations, captive wildlife tourism, and rehabilitation. While scholars from animal studies, ethics, geography, and ethnography disciplines have turned their attention to sanctuaries, there is still limited engagement from the fields of tourism, conservation, and animal welfare sciences. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this paper addresses the ‘sanctuary gap’ by offering a synthesis of the existing research related to wildlife sanctuary tourism. To this end, the paper suggests preliminary definitions for wildlife sanctuary tourism and wildlife sanctuary attractions, as well as a typology of sanctuaries along a spectrum from greenwashed to just. It aims to illuminate the shadowy presence of wildlife sanctuaries across multiple disciplines and identify areas for future research. The discussion considers how sanctuaries are well-suited to research on multispecies communities, as well as the conservation and welfare of wild animals. Full article

The objective of this paper is to highlight animal stakeholders, evidenced-based best practices, care ethics, and compassion as essential components of sustainable wildlife tourism. These tenets stem from an animal geography lens, which is well-positioned for studies of animal-based tourism and transspecies caregiving. As a conceptual contribution, this paper presents a theory synthesis that ‘stays with the trouble’ of wildlife tourism and identifies ways to ‘bring animals in’. Our approach could be described as multispecies, critical, and socio-ecological. We argue that the trouble with wildlife tourism writ large includes nonhuman suffering and biodiversity loss, unethical and unevidenced practices, gaps in the knowledge of wildlife welfare, and limited engagement with animals as stakeholders. We then present four ways to ‘bring animals in’ as co-participants in wildlife tourism research and practice. This involves enfranchising animals as stakeholders in wildlife tourism, buttressed by ethics of care, best practices, and a commitment to improved outcomes along the conservation-welfare nexus. Finally, we consider the extent to which wildlife sanctuary tourism serves as a further problem or panacea that balances the conservation and welfare of wild animals. The result of our theory synthesis is the promotion of a more care-full and compassionate paradigm for wildlife tourism, which draws from diverse scholarships that contribute, conceptually and practically, to the underserved niches of wildlife welfare, rehabilitation, and sanctuary research. Full article

Despite previous concerns regarding the survival of Asiatic Lions confined to the Gir Protected Area, their dispersal into surrounding landscapes has become a subject of considerable research and discussion. This study employs species distribution modeling, corridor analysis, and additional landscape assessment using satellite-based temperatures and Land Cover statistics to investigate this dispersal and identify potential corridors based on extensive field data. The results reveal the identification of a potential corridor from Gir Wildlife Sanctuary towards Velavadar Blackbuck National Park, indicating the expansion of the Asiatic Lion’s range in the Eastern Greater Gir Landscape. These findings highlight the significance of resilience in Lion dispersal and corridor expansion, with implications for conservation and potential regional benefits, including ecosystem services and eco-tourism for sustainable development of the region. Full article

The worldwide pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 challenged conservation organizations. The lack of tourism has benefited or negatively affected wildlife organizations in various ways, with several primate sanctuaries struggling to cope with the COVID-19 crisis and to keep providing for their inhabitants. In addition, the genetic similarity between great apes and humans puts them at higher risk than any other species for the transmission of COVID-19. PASA is a non-profit organization comprising 23 sanctuaries, and cares for many species of primate, including African great apes. In light of the pandemic, we aimed to understand the direct effects of COVID-19 on PASA management throughout three time periods: before (2018–2019), at the start of (2019–2020), and during (2020–2021) the pandemic. We collected data via annual surveys for PASA members and ran Generalized Linear Mixed Models to highlight any significant differences in their management that could be linked to COVID-19. Our findings demonstrated no particular impact on the number of primates rescued, employees, or expenses. However, revenues have been decreasing post-COVID-19 due to the lack of income from tourism and volunteer programs. Nonetheless, our results reveal a form of resilience regarding the sanctuaries and the strategy applied to maintain their management. Consequently, we emphasize the specific impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and its repercussions for conservation work. We discuss the difficulties that sanctuaries have faced throughout the crisis and present the best measures to prevent future outbreaks and protect biodiversity. Full article

Based on data of visitors to national parks, nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries in Sarawak, this study’s objective is to use the spatial and temporal analysis to describe the underlying trend and temporal pattern of local and foreign visitors and ultimately infer the temporal distribution of visitors to 18 different TPAs. The second aim of the study is to cluster the visitors according to the location of TPAs using Wards hierarchical clustering method. By comparing average monthly visitors’ count, we observed that the average number of monthly visitors significantly reflects the distribution concentration of visitors based on the spatial map. Findings indicate that the monthly distributions of local and foreign visitors differ according to different TPAs. The spatial and temporal analysis found that local visitors’ arrival is high at the end of the year while foreign visitors showed significant arrival during the months of July, August and September. The Wards minimum variance method was able to cluster TPAs local and foreign visitors into very high, high, medium and low visitor area. This study provides additional information that could contribute to identifying the periods of highest visitor pressure, design measures to manage the concentration of visitors and improve the overall visitors’ experience. The findings of the study are also important to respective local authorities in providing information for planning and monitoring tourism in TPAs. Consecutively, this will ensure sustainability of TPAs resources while protecting their biodiversity. Full article