Hi Mirushaa

A very warm WELCOME from me and great yiou found us!

Hopefully you become a loyal bushdrummer! Would be wonderful to get some inputs from a younger member !

I have not read the other posts in order to write mine as unbiased as possible.....[/color]

how does overcrowded safari affect wildlife and nature?

> Overcrowded, overpopulation brings enormous stress to the animals. Particularly regarding their hunting >tactics, failure and success rates. We have seen that in the Massai Mara where Cheetahs, normally used >to hunt in the early morning hours and late afternoon, have changed their hunting tactics to hunt during >the hot hours of the day (11am to 15pm) as that's the time when safari vehicles get back to camps and >lodges for their siesta.
>Safari vehicles interfere with hunts following the cats and making prey aware of their presence.
>Furthermore off-road driving as allowed in private game reserves has an enormous impact onto the flora, >ground-nesting birds, reptiles etc.

do you think that properly organized tourism can protect nature and wildlife?

> revenue sourced from tourism of course enables governments to pay for game warden, fencing if >necessary, anti poaching units, building nature conscious infrastructure, maintaining rest camps etc.
>But the evaluation how many camps within one reserve should be allowed is regrettably very much >depending not only animal and nature in mind but mostly in view to profit.

what kinds of tourism can be considered as nature-friendly?

> Unmotorized tourism would be the choice but it's still not available. LONDOLOZI in South Africa is >currently testing a game drive vehicle which is totally nature friendly - zero emissions, well mostly as still >electricity (wall plug) is needed. And as long as this eletricity doesn't come from solar power there is still >some kind of emission. But it's a start.............
http://www.londolozi.com/conservation_at_londolozi/a_londolozi_original/
Here are some very good thoughts:
http://www.londolozi.com/conservation_at_londolozi/22nd_century_and_beyond
>The whole safari industry and foremost its clients have to re-switch their doings. Getting down with >expectations regarding game drives and the emission that causes and whether they do off-roading.
>Why client's have to re-think: It's the clients who request off-roading. Some even go so far to not visit >game reserves where off-roading isn't permittet.

can eco safari limit damages made on wildlife and nature? and how?

> - use of environmentally friendly vehicles
> - no offroad driving
> - water management/waste water management
> - waste management
> - solar power in tents/rooms instead of electricity also for battery charging
> - bucket showers instead of running water
> - abandon charcoal for water heating or cocking. production of charcoal has lead to the deforestation in >many parts of Africa. Foremost here to mention the Mau forest/Kenya. But that problem exists all over!
> - refill of water bottles (mark with names) instead of handing out new ones
> - Abandon "spas" in the bush as well as "plunge pools" in front of every tent/suite. The spa-idea was
> born at the end of the 90s and now every camp/lodge which wants to earn really big money introduces > such nonsens in order to become more "luxurious" justifying insane bed night rates by the offer of such > "invcentives" mostly in dry bone areas.
> - no swimmingpools in dry areas
> - no game flights (aircraft as well as helicopter)
> - no motorized watersports in areas like St. Lucia/South Africa or Okavango Delta/Botswana e.g.
> - no golf course in water sensitive areas

Can be eco safari considered as the way how to preserve nature?

> Eco Safari can only be considered if all involved are pulling a rope into the same direction!
> . That starts with the flights. If we have to fly to Africa we can nowadays contribute towards nature
> conservation by paying a emission fee calculated on the miles we fly.
> . only choose camps and lodges which consider environmentally friendly pratises as described above.
> . Travel agents have to be more educated and informed on venues regarding environmentally friendly management.
> . Traven agents should make sure no camps and lodges are booked which are involved in trophy hunting. > That hunting leads to decreased number of big cats for example. The decrease leeds to a very limited
> gene pool which leads to extrem vulnerability of the cats regarding diseases.
> . Any venue which allows lion or leopards cubs to be petted or conducts lion walks must be boycoted as
> the cubs go straight to "canned hunting farms" (hunting in samll enclosures where animals cannot
> escape, some are traquilized in order to be hunted) after they have grown out of the age for such
> activities which is when they get to dangerous (between 12 and 20 months of age)
> . Elephant Back Safaris (EBS) should be abandoned as the request for these safaris lead companies to
> capture tiny elephants from wild herds in order to train tghem brutally for their safaris.

To wrap it: ECO safaris can only be done if there is no animal abuse involved, no off-roading, water/waste water and waste management, limited number of vehicles/bed in one reserve so that pressures is taken away from animals. Only a small number of vehicles should be allowed for a limited time (2 cars/10 min. - then pull out!)

Particularly in view to eco - it's always a question of education. Sprteading the "wisdom" or knowledge and making people aware. Ignorance and lack of knowledge about those things is mostly the reason for being NOT eco-friendly paired with greed to make a quick and easy buck.

If something else comes to my mind I'll post here.

So check occasionally!

Success with your project!

And yes - safari guide is a great profession but the person who is focusing onto that profession must have a great PASSION for the bush! If you feel that passion: Go for it!

Pippa - your last comment, I could not agree more. You either have the feeling or you do not. It cannot just be done for work and money.

Mirushaa:

The one thing you might have against you is being a female. I can't remember seeing a female guide on many trips to Africa. This is not because they are against females per se. However, most of the lodges and camps have facilities for drivers and guides and the drivers and guides often have to share a room and facilities. Most of the places probably wouldn't want to spend money to build separate facilities for women.

That being said, learn all you can about eco-tourism and wildlife. Try to get yourself a good study book such as Audubon's African Wildlife, Sprawl's book on Reptiles and study and learn about each species. Also try to get information from KPSIGA in Kenya about what they require to take the test for guiding. Then when you are ready to try for that special job you will be able to let them know how much you already know and are worth taking a chance on hiring their first female.

You go girl!!! Work hard on making your dream come true.

Jan and Mirushaa - a female, European friend of mine living in Kenya has been thinking of building a small tourist camp in a private conservancy....and, she wants an all female staff (she says they work twice a hard as their male counterparts)....cooks, drivers, guides....that would eliminate the problem of "separate facilities for women".

Unfortunately, this dream is "on hold" as the financing for the project disappeared with the global recession.

Jan
You are right - now as you stated it it comes to my mind that I also haven't experienced a female ranger/guide in Kenya.

So Mirushaa should focus on to South Africa. There females are quite a regular sight. Not as tracker of course (those Shangaan are remarkable trackers).

kat
Maybe in the bush it's different. But in our European environment a mostly female environment means often a lot of energy waste to fight some bitchy colleagues.
But the idea sounds good to me and because it's in the bush where all must pull on the same rope (into the same direction of course ) that might work.