The double-edged sword of safari tourism

or hit another elephant with its tusk. We also watched the movements of elephant herds to see if they stuck around or moved away from tourist vehicles.towards other elephants in months when tourist numbers in the park were high. Elephant herds were also more likely to move away from tourist vehicles when there were more vehicles present.

So, it appears that tourism does have some impact on elephant welfare – but this may not be entirely bad news. We didn’t observe an increase in stressed or vigilant behaviour in response to higher numbers of tourists, and the effect of increased aggression was small. Hunting can have muchStudies which measured levels of stress hormones in elephants after they witnessed hunts or were nearby have found they increase significantly.

is also much worse for elephant welfare than observation tours. Wildlife watching, without physical contact, seems to be the better mode of tourism for elephant welfare, but it’s not without its concerns.Although these results were interesting, they are only from a single population in South Africa where driving regulations were enforced. We don’t know how elephants are affected in areas where tourists drive their private vehicles on safari unaccompanied by professional guides.

More tourists per month meant there were more vehicles on the roads, but also more air traffic, more diverse smells and sounds and who knows what else. Parks could create refuge areas where safari tours are restricted and contact with wildlife minimised, perhaps in areas where there are fewer roads already. Tour companies could strictly enforce a no off-roading rule here and prohibit guided walks by tourists. Such refuge areas have previously been shown to have great potential in

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