WILDLIFE TOURISM
You can instead sit comfortably on the veranda
of an ecolodge watching birds and wallabies, go
seeking animals on safari in air-conditioned vehicles or visit well-run wildlife parks that emphasize research, public education and conservation breeding, with a variety of fascinating creatures you may
not otherwise see if here for a short visit.
Wildlife Tourism Australia’s website introduces you
to environmentally-friendly tours, accommodation
and wildlife parks throughout the country, with tips
for your own independent travel, and how not to
disturb the animals you wish to see. There is also
much information on native animals, discussions on
conservation and other issues, best-practice guidelines and links to much other information, including
books and research papers.
Australia is a strange place. It is home to famous
marsupials such as kangaroos, koalas, wombats
and Tasmanian devils, as well as quokkas, numbats
and many other marsupials you may never have
heard of. In fact about half our mammal species
are marsupials, and we have no native monkeys,
bears, cats or hoofed animals. We do have the very
peculiar furry but egg-laying platypus and echidna, the world’s best mimic (lyrebird), the laughing
kookaburra, the tall and flightless emu and cassowary, bowerbirds that construct elaborate, decorated bowers, and most of the world’s cockatoos.
We share the world’s largest crocodile with tropical Asia and have a smaller crocodile found nowhere else. Australia is also the probable birthplace
of songbirds, parrots and pigeons, all of which we
have a-plenty.
Some animals are easy to find: colourful parrots
are common in most cities, wild grey kangaroos
abound not far from some of our capitals, and
there are many places to watch the flight of thousands of large and noisy ftuitbats or watch whales in
season. Other creatures may take more effort and
patience: e.g. climbing a mountain to see rockwallabies, heading way out into the true outback
for big red kangaroos and desert birds and reptiles,
waiting at dawn or dusk for shy platypus, or diving in
southern seas to find the strange leafy sea dragon.
In Australia you can dive the coral reefs amid brightcoloured fish, turtles and other creatures, swim with
whale-sharks or minke whales, see penguins waddle ashore at night, watch animals gather at an
outback waterhole before sunset and then camp
under a sky of brilliant stars, hike through rainforests or the typical Aussie bush (eucalypt forest and
woodlands), explore caves, canoe down scenic
rivers or watch thousands of glow worms (very different from fire-flies, although we have them too)
light up at night.
Our members (tour operators, accommodation
providers, wildlife parks, academic researchers and
others) agree to commit to supporting wildlife conservation, animal welfare and quality interpretation
(“interpretation” here means enjoyable education
of a kind that provides a deeper understanding
and appreciation of wildlife and their habitats).
You may also like to help with wildlife research. Wildlife in Australia, as in other world regions, face many
problems. Climate change, habitat destruction,
increasing human population spreading into wildlife areas, the black market trade, human-wildlife
conflicts, changes in fire regimes, vehicle collisions,
diseases and many other pressures are causing
concern about the survival of many species. There
is much that we already know, to guide conservation plans, but also much that we don’t yet know,
and some tour operators conduct research or assist
researchers. If you can reliably identify Aussie birds
and other creatures you can directly help with recording observations, or otherwise assist by finding
animals to point out to the research leader, taking
relevant photos, setting and washing live-capture
traps, measuring tree-trunks or carrying equipment.
You can learn a lot about research techniques and
about the animals themselves, as well as having a
feeling of accomplishment at helping the wildlife
you have enjoyed seeing. See http://www.wildliferesearchnetwork.org.
Wildlife Tourism Australia also runs conferences,
workshops, wildlife expos and other events. Whatever your interest in Australia’s wildlife, visit
www.wildlifetourism.org.au