Natural Science and Wildlife Tourism

Managing human–wildlife tourism activities requires an understanding of the interaction between humans and wildlife drawing primarily on the basic scientific discipline of wildlife biology and the action of wildlife management. Wildlife biology explains the actions of the animals themselves through studies of their ecology and behaviour. Wildlife management is concerned with the application of the findings of wildlife biology to manipulate or conserve wildlife populations and with the social, legal and political contexts which contribute to the decisions (Caughley & Sinclair, 1994; Taber & Saharia, 1995). Together, science and management recommend how interactions between people and wildlife can be arranged to maximise the benefits and minimise the problems for all parties. Furthering a basic \nunderstanding of the concerns and practices of wildlife biology enhances pleasure in the wildlife tourism experience by explaining why animals behave as they do, while an understanding of wildlife management is essential for people seeking to introduce a tourism perspective into management decision making (Braithwaite & Reynolds, 2002).