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CHAPTER –I
INTRODUCTION
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1.1. MAN VERSES WILD
Human fascination with animals has been around as long as the two coexisted on planet
earth. Relationships between humans and animals can take different forms including being food
source, clothing or shelter, use for scientific and medical researches , sport or entertainment; as a
form of companionship and or a point of connection with the natural world. Understanding this
relationship with animals is important because it shapes our feelings actions towards them. This
has a direct bearing on our view of animals in and for tourism.
According to Malcolm Hunter’s live short history, the term ‘wildlife’ is less than a
century old and was not included in major dictionaries in before 1961 in the United States and
before 1986 in United Kingdom. Ominously its first use was in a book published in 1913 called
our vanishing wildlife; which foreshadowed the conservation crisis apparent during the second
half of the 20th century. Definition of wildlife often referred game animals, while other includes
all non-domesticated vertebrates and in some in some cases invertebrates and plants. This
ambiguity creates problems when stakeholders with differing understanding s of what is included
under the term ‘wildlife; debate management issues. The development of term wildlife was
accompanied by the growth of interrelated academic disciplines of wildlife biology, wildlife
management and wildlife conservation.
There are now specialist societies and journals devoted to the study of academic
courses in wildlife biology at any universities. Wildlife co-exists with humans but has generally
been viewed as a resource by them. Traditional approaches to the conservations of wildlife have
entered around their use to humankind.Even today the medicinal, agricultural and industrial
importance of wildlife is stressed alongside of the aesthetic and ethical value. The viewing of
wildlife as part of nature is generally regarded as being either restorative or as a competence
builder. These two themes seem to derive their origins in the overall view that humans have of
the world. Generally there are two world views, and people differ over how serious our
environmental problems are due to their different worldviews .Worldviews come in different but
the two most common vary according to whether or they put human at the centre of things.
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Two examples are human centered or anthropocentric world view that underlies most
industrial societies such as Australia and eco centric or life-centric worldview. Key principles of
the human centric worldview are that humans are the planet’s most important species and that
humans are apart from and in charge of the rest of the nature. It assumes the earth has an
unlimited supply of resources to which access is gained through science and technology. Other
people believe that any human centered worldview, even stewardship, is unsustainable. It is
suggested that human worldviews must be expanded to recognize inherent or intrinsic value
for all forms of life that is value regardless of the potential or actual use to humanity. This is a
life centered or eco centric world view in which humans believe that it is use full recognize
biodiversity as a vital element of earth for all life.
The eco centric world view believes that nature exists for all earth species and that
people are not apart from or in charge of the rest of natures. The according to Miller (2004
Biologist), people made the earth. But the earth does not need people. He suggests that some
forms of economic growth are beneficial and some are harmful and that human goal should be to
design economical and political system that encourage sustainable forms of growth and
discourage or prohibit forms which cause degradation or pollution. A healthy economy depends
on a healthy environment as human survival life quality and economies are totally dependent on
the rest of the nature.
1.2. Human-wild life encounters
Reverence for, the use of, and the appreciation probably goes back to prehistoric
time, when human lives were linked with the animal lived around them. Throughout human
history varies species have been domesticated and kept as pets and it’s clear that animals play a
diverse and crucial role in human society today. In more reason time people’s appreciation of
animals has become linked to issues concerning human related impacts on natural world such has
environmental degradation, ecological sustainability and loss of biological diversity. Wild life
tourism fundamentally comprises the viewing of wild animals.
The desire to view wild animals sits within the complex frame work that may result in
target species being influenced in and unnatural negative way. People’s views of the world form
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a part of their approach to wild life and their encounters with them the influence of the television
documentaries has particularly shaped the views of wild life of the people in the western world.
For many urban dwellers their view of natural areas and animals within has almost being
exclusively shaped by their view of the world as seen through the media of television, and to a
lesser extent, motion pictures. Thus it could be argued that this virtual experience often
represents their first and sometimes their only encounters with wild life. Other encounters may
be gained from viewing wild life in captive situations such as zoos, aviaries or aquariums.
1.3. Spectrum of wild life tourism: Selected examples
Animal group of
principal interest
Tourism activity Example of location
Insects Butterfly viewing Baynes reserve,
Berkshire,England
Insects Glowworm viewing Springbrook national park,
Australia
Crustaceans Red crab migration Christmas islans . Indian ocean
Fish Snorkel in fresh water Bonato,prata river. Brazil
Fish and invertebrates Snorkel/scuba dive coral reefs Ningalu reef and great barrier
reef, Australia
Fish Snorkel with whale sharks Ningalu reef, australiaa
Fish Feeding and close interaction
with stingrays
Cayman island, Maldives,
Fish Under water viewing Dyer Islands. SA
Reptiles Observing komodo dragons Komodo island ,Indonesia
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Reptiles Viewing turtle egg laying
process
Exmouth and
monrepose,Australia
Reptiles and Birds Observe python and birds Bharatpur India
Reptiles Observe crocodiles via boat
tours
Kakadu national park,Australia
Birds Independent or organized visit
to reserves for birds watching
Uk,India,USA,Europe,Africa
Birds Visits to sea bird breeding
island
UK,Australia.USa
Birds and reptiles Boat trips on wetlands Kakadu National park,Australia
Birds and Mammals Islands containing rare
endangered species.
Kapati island ,Newzealand
Birds Independent travelers and coach
tours to see breeding albatross
colony
Tayaroa Head Newzealand
Mammals Vehicle safari to see large
concentration of mammals
Massaimara ,Kenya
Mammals Tiger viewing from hides or
elephant backs
Chitwan national park.nepal
India
Mammals Mountain trek and camping in
order to observe habituated
gorillas
Virunga National Park,west
Africa
Mammals Guided tour to observe Atherton table land
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nocturnal species Australia(Vehicle access and
night walk)
Mammals Boat/and or shore based
observations of cetaceans and
pinnipeds
Austarlia.SA.Argentina.USA
Table; 1.1
1.4. Where is the wildlife?
The world's highest levels of biodiversity occur in less-developed countries and these
offer some of the world's most well-known wildlife-watching destinations. These were Eastern
Africa (particularly safari-style viewing of large cats and ungulates), followed by Central and
Southern America (rainforest wildlife and the Galapagos National Park). In some of the countries
in these regions (e.g. Kenya, Costa Rica, Ecuador), wildlife is the major motivation for tourism.
Although wildlife occurs across the world, there are several variables that may influence the
development of a wildlife watching tourism industry. Global biodiversity is far from uniformly
spread across the planet. In general, tropical regions have the greatest proportion of biodiversity
and these coincide with the relatively less developed countries. For most life on earth we do not
have accurate counts of the numbers of species, and many scientists acknowledge the limited
prospect of identifying all the species before some disappear in the face of the present
extinction.Even the estimates of numbers of species vary widely (from about 5 million out to 100
million) but all are well above the current number of described species (around 1.5 million).
Only a much more limited number feature prominently in wildlife tourism.
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1.5. What is wildlife tourism?
Wildlife tourism is tourism based on encounters with non-domesticated (non-human)
animals. These encounters can occur in either the animals’ natural environment or in captivity. It
includes activities historically classified as ‘non-consumptive’, such as viewing, photography
and feeding, as well as those that involve killing or capturing animals, particularly hunting (in
the terrestrial environment) and recreational fishing (in the aquatic environment). Wildlife
tourism can entail: attractions at fixed sites, tours, experiences available in association with
tourist accommodation, or it can occur as unguided encounters by independent travelers.
Tourism is the sum of government and private sector activities that shape and serve the
needs and manage the consequences of holiday, business and other travel.A ‘tourist’ is a person
who travels 40km or more away from their home for a period of at least one night, for any reason
other than paid employment. In some cases the more general term ‘visitor’ to mean a person who
undertakes temporary travel outside their home to another location for any purpose other than
engaging in paid employment in the location visited .Here the definition of ‘wildlife’ restricted
to fauna (animals), to coincide with general use of the term by the tourism industry and public.
The term ‘animal’ is defined in the biological sense to mean any member of the Kingdom
Animalia (except humans). It thus includes not only land dwelling vertebrates such as mammals,
birds and lizards, but also aquatic vertebrates that usually live in the sea or inland waters, such as
platypus, fish and turtles. It also includes invertebrates such as glow-worms, butterflies, corals
and starfish. Wildlife is not restricted to animals that are native to the country in question (such
as kangaroos and emus in Australia) but also includes exotic animals, whether held in captivity,
or introduced into the natural environment either deliberately or accidentally (such as feral pigs
and camels in Australia).
The term ‘non-domesticated’ is preferred to ‘wild’ because it is unclear whether the
latter term applies to the species or its setting (e.g. a tiger in a zoo is a non-domesticated species,
but some might argue it is no longer wild). ‘Wildlife tourism’ can be applied at a number of
hierarchical scales. Its application is complicated by the fact that many tourism experiences and
products feature wildlife as only one component of a travel package. At the lowest hierarchical
level, wildlife tourism is that component of a tourism experience or product that is based on
wildlife. At the next level, it can be applied to tourism products. For convenience, a whale
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watching tour and an eco tour that includes wildlife are both considered wildlife tourism
products. It can also be applied to businesses that offer a wildlife tourism product. Thus, a zoo
and a farm-stay business that includes viewing of wild animals (among other experiences) are
both considered wildlife tourism businesses.. At the highest level, some places, such as the
Galapagos Islands and Kenya can reasonably be described as wildlife tourism destinations.
As a tourism product category wildlife tourism overlaps with other classes of tourism,
particularly nature-based tourism, special interest tourism and ecotourism. The extent of this
overlap depends on exactly how these terms are defined. It is considered that most wildlife
tourism is a subset of nature-based tourism, since animals are a subset of nature, although zoos
and other attractions where wildlife are kept in captivity are not seen by few other as naturebased
tourism. Wildlife tourism can be considered a form of ecotourism when it occurs within
the context of nature-based activities that provides environmental interpretation and adopts
environmentally responsible practices. In cases where a tourist travels to a particular destination
primarily for the purpose of having a wildlife experience, then wildlife tourism can be seen as a
form of special interest tourism.
1.6. Stake holders
There are a range of stakeholders on wildlife tourism. This include host community,
tourists, tour operator and managers and aa a whole range of other groups, organizations,
association and government bodies. Importantly it also includes any person or group who
expresses an interest and/or involvement in wildlife tourism. Thus working with stakeholders to
advance the goals of wildlife tourism is a complex issue but one which must be addressed if
successful wildlife tourism to occur.
Involvement of the local community is based on the objective that the local communities
should benefit from wildlife tourism occurring in their locality. Benefits can be financial,
employment, increased provision of services and facilities, and better planning, management and
operation of wildlife tourism. Involvement can be as operators providers of goods and services
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employees, guides and trainers; and participation in wildlife tourism planning, management and
operation, interaction of the community with tourists or as recipients of income.
Elements concerned with wildlife tourism have been sectioned into the following five
themes:
• Visitors
• Economics
• The Wildlife Experience
• Host Communities
• Wildlife Impacts and Management
Figure; 1.1
This project has touched all the above elements in a moderate level to draw the required
objectives. Hunting and fishing and marine wildlife have been exclude as these two need a wider
approach to be studied.
Visitors
Wildlife Experience Host
Wildlife Impacts and Management
Economics
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CHAPTER- II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
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2.1. Contributions of Wildlife Tourism
To Conservation
In wildlife tourism it is crucial not only to the conservation of the animals, but also to the
sustainability of businesses concerned, that the net effects of tourism on wildlife are not negative
.Further, there is increasing consensus among international tourism and conservation
organizations, as well as national governments, that nature-based or wildlife tourism should go
beyond minimizing negative impacts on the environment, and contribute positively to
conservation. The net effects of wildlife tourism on wildlife are a result of the balance between
any negative impacts of the tourism-related activities on the animals and any, generally indirect,
positive contributions to their conservation. While the potential negative effects have been
researched in some detail there has been little attempt to systematically research and quantify
these positive effects, and most ofthe available information is anecdotal.
The main ways in which wildlife tourism can (in theory) provide benefits to conservation
are illustrated in Figure . It shows the links between key components of the system: wildlife,
people and money. Most of these links apply potentially to all forms of wildlife tourism.
Ultimately, conservation of wildlife involves what people do (or do not do), directly or
indirectly, to wild animals or their habitats that increases the chances of long-term persistence of
wild populations. The ways in which wildlife tourism is potentially associated with conservation
benefits can be classified into one (or more) of a number of categories:
• Direct wildlife management, and supporting research – considered here to be deliberate
manipulations of wild animals or their habitats to achieve conservation goals, by tourism
operators or by their clients as part of tourism activities;
• Use of income derived from wildlife tourism to fund conservation initiatives -
This income can be used to fund the operator’s own wildlife management efforts, or can be
donated to other organizations who carry out such initiatives;
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• Provision of socio-economic incentives for conservation – operators engaging in wildlife
tourism, or communities receiving economic or social benefits from wildlife tourism, have an
incentive to act in a way that supports the conservation of the wildlife resource on which those
benefits are based;
• Education of visitors such that they act to support or enhance conservation -
This may be through enhanced political support or pressure for conservation by visitors, through
influencing their behavior towards wildlife, or through prompting them to make voluntary
donations to conservation.
Potential positive consequences of wildlife tourism for conservation.
Figure; 2.1
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2.2. Economics of wildlife tourism;
There is a range of government charges on commercial nature-based tourism operators
and tourists. This revenue is intended to contribute to the costs of management associated with
tourism activities. Most of these fees relate to use of protected areas (where a large proportion of
wildlife watching occurs). Less common is the practice of requiring permits (with associated
fees) for tourism operators who offer close encounters with particular species of wildlife that are
of conservation concern, even if outside protected areas
Types of government-administered user fees applied to wildlife tourism
Charges relating to nature-based tourism that may include a wildlife component
1. Entrance fees to protected areas
2. Fees for use of services or facilities in protected areas
3. Visitor levies applying to protected areas
4. License fees for commercial tour operators in protected areas
5. Concession and lease fees for commercial operations within protected areas
6. Merchandising revenue and royalties associated with protected areas
7. Taxes
Charges specific to wildlife tourism
1. License fees for commercial operators who provide encounters with wildlife species
of particular conservation concern (even outside protected areas)
2. License fees for exhibition of captive native wildlife
3. License fees for recreational-fishing operators, even outside protected areas
4. License fees for individuals who participate in recreational fishing or hunting
5. Admission/tour fees at government-owned wildlife tourism attractions; generally
Involving those in protected areas and certain captive wildlife attractions
6. Merchandising revenue and royalties associated with wildlife tourism attractions
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However, revenues from parks around the world are generally not sufficient to offset
fully their operating costs, let alone to provide net funding for conservation. There are a few
notable exceptions. User fees at some parks or in some regions provide revenues that not only
support their own operations but also provide funding for conservation measures. Further, it has
been argued that there are opportunities for substantially increasing entrance fees to many
protected areas worldwide.
2.3. Black economics behind wildlife tourism;
India’s premier protected area the Corbett Tiger Reserve is always in controversy in
administering wildlife tourism here. Corbett sees over two lakh visitors annually. Figures shown
in report say that 150 vehicles with about 600 people are allowed in everyday. And there is
accommodation for over 3,000 around the reserve. Which means there is intense pressure on
park officials, and has encouraged corruption (for instance, this new year, the going rate charged
by some tour operators for a room in Dhikala( Forest Lodge) was reportedly over Rs 30,000 ‐
while officially the rate is about Rs1,500). Every morning there is mayhem at the booking
office—and a former park director complained that “too much attention and time of park
officials and staffs diverted towards tourism.”(From a study for ministry of tourism .Govt of
India by Prerna Singh Bindra).
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2.4. Host Communities
The growth and popularity of certain forms of wildlife tourism poses increasing
opportunities and threats for host communities. Wildlife tourism depends on a viable resource
(wildlife), an interested market (tourists) and accommodating locals (hosts). Wildlife tourism
activities have many potential impacts on a host community, and the host community can impact
on wildlife tourism activities. Any increase in wildlife tourism is likely to be accompanied by a
growth in the number of people affected by it, and thus a challenge for the wildlife tourism
industry is to maximize cultural, economic and social benefits for the host community while
minimizing any adverse effects. Frequently referred to in tourism literature, ‘host community’ is
often presented as synonymous with ‘residents’, ‘locals’, ‘public’ or ‘citizens’. Such terms,
however, rarely distinguish between hosts as suppliers and tourists as users of tourism resources.
An important characteristic of the host community is that it does not constitute a unified whole,
and its constituent groups of stakeholders and individuals are rarely homogenous. Divergent
interests exist amongst host community members and recognition of this is essential for tourism
planners, developers, and managers. Consequently, when comment is made on host support, or
otherwise, it is important to recognize that variations in level of support may exist within the
same community.
Generally, tourism offers Indigenous communities the opportunity to gain economic
benefits from wildlife and to communicate Indigenous knowledge and understandings of wildlife
to visitors. Although Indigenous peoples have limited involvement in wildlife tourism,
Indigenous land-ownership and Indigenous knowledge of country and wildlife indicate the
potential for growth in this area. The relationship between Indigenous peoples and Australian
wildlife includes traditional cultural, and spiritual dimensions, as well as ongoing use of wildlife
for food and artifacts, and more recent commercial uses including wildlife farms and tourism.
Hosts have much to offer wildlife tourism and wildlife tourism has much to offer hosts.
Through extensive traditional and in-depth local, knowledge host communities can enhance the
wildlife experience for tourists and positively contribute to species and ecosystem conservation;
thus increasing the possibility of wildlife tourism being sustainable. Effective host participation
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in planning and management can build support for wildlife tourism developments, create new
partnerships, help resolve conflicts between stakeholders, and provide an additional source of
knowledge and labour. Revenue, via compensation and employment, from wildlife tourism can
increase host communities’ standards of living. However, revenue from and distribution needs to
be carefully considered through a process that includes the active participation of hosts and this
needs to be balanced against the substantial costs in money and time required for comprehensive
programs of stakeholder participation.
2.5. Hosts and sustainability
Ø The host community is also an important element to consider in the concept of
sustainability. The sustainability of wildlife tourism isdependent, in part, on its support
from the area’s residents.
Ø Host satisfaction is related to both the involvement of local community members in
wildlife tourism activities, and the benefits and disadvantages of wildlife tourism to host
communities.
Ø Social and cultural issues need to be considered because of the importance of host
acceptance. Determining how to make a wildlife tourism attraction sustainable from the
perspective of the host community requires an understanding of the interplay of elements
affecting both the perception of, and support for, that tourism.
2.6. Impacts and attitudes
Ø The actual and perceived impacts of wildlife tourism will influence the attitudes of the
host community and ultimately have an effect on sustainability. It is postulated that
wildlife tourism will only be sustainable where there are benefits for the host
community.
Ø Impacts on the social environment are likely to affect the behaviour of individuals,
community groups, lifestyles, value systems and religious or traditional ceremonies. The
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magnitude of the impacts is likely to vary with the number of tourists, the length of stay,
the importance of the wildlife to community life before tourism, and its place in cultural
history.
2.7. Negative Effects of Wildlife Tourism on
Wildlife
Tourism is increasingly being seen as a threat to wildlife and ecosystems .Although it is
often assumed that wildlife tourism is environmentally friendly because wildlife tourists tend to
empathize with conservation and animal welfare issues, even conservationists and animal-lovers
can cause unwitting damage. Moreover, whilst many wildlife tour operators are socially and
environmentally responsible, this is not universal. Wildlife tourism operators need to ensure they
do not damage the very wildlife populations their businesses depend on. It is also in their best
interests to demonstrate to their industry that they are not diminishing resources used by other
operators, and to prove to the accreditation bodies and concerned tourists that environmental
impacts, including those on non-target wildlife, are minimized. Information on effects of wildlife
tourism on wildlife is progressively accumulating, which means that management guidelines
have to be dynamic and adaptive if best-practice management is to be maintained. Tour
operators, planners and managers must keep themselves informed of actual and potential
negative effects, in the same way that it is in the best interests of restaurant managers to keep
themselves updated on possible causes of food poisoning.
Wildlife tourism can result in a range of negative effects. These vary from short term
changes in physiology or behavior of individual animals through to long-term effects such as
increased mortality or reduced breeding success of entire populations, and impacts at the
ecosystem level, including effects on cryptic or less ‘exciting’ wildlife that are not the major
focus of tourism. Short-term effects can cumulatively develop into long-term impacts and effects
on individual animals can cumulatively affect populations and ecosystems. The severity of
negative effects of wildlife tourism on wildlife varies considerably with the animal itself, its
species, age, sex, physical condition and stage of breeding, the kind of habitat it occupies,
whether it is close to other animals, and previous encounters with wildlife tourism or other
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human activity. Severity will also vary with type, frequency and intensity of wildlife tourism,
distance between a person (or vehicle) and the animal, and stimuli such as sound, light and
sudden movements.
The main effects on wildlife can be summarized as follows
• Health issues caused by humans include the risk of disease transference.
• Disturbance to animal’s hunting and feeding.
• Disturbance to animal’s mating.
• Continuous contact reduces the fear of animal towards the humans which will
result in greater problems like crop destruction, personal threats.
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CHAPTER- III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
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3.1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The encounter between the visitor and the wildlife comprises the core of a wildlife
tourism experience. This experience is a result of the interaction of elements relating to the
natural resource base (wildlife and associated habitat), the visitor, the operator and host
community, the economy and any management set in place. The consequences for the natural
environment and for host communities can be positive, neutral or negative. Here the research
investigates the possible impacts inters of the Economics and the loss to the biodiversity.
3.2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
• To identify different wildlife tourism activities across the world.
• To identify the different impacts it creates on Biodiversity.
• To measure the economics it produces in local community and nation.
• To find out the different impacts wildlife tourism created in the study area.
• To identify the deficiencies in administering wildlife tourism in Wayanad wildlife
sanctuary.
• To suggest measures to overcome or to reduce the negative impacts.
3.3. SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH
Tourism experiences involving wildlife vary greatly in the emphasis or intensity of
encounters. In some cases the wildlife forms the basis and entirety of the tour package, as in
dedicated bird watching or whale-watching trips. In some, while wildlife may provide a focus
and incentive, there are other attributes of significance within the trip, such as cultural
experiences. Though game parks are not there in India, it is also a recognized hub for wildlife
tourism. Corbett national park being the prime tiger destination India has got numerous other
parks and wildlife sanctuaries.664 different protected areas in India offer a wide variety of
wildlife tourism experience to domestic as well as international tourists. Periyar tiger reserve in
kerala attracts most number of visitors to a protected area in India. The ultimate effect it
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produces among the local community as well in national international level has to be measured
for the smooth existence both biodiversity and local people.
3.4. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Closing of wildlife sanctuary for a period of one month due to wild fire made the data
collection to lag extremely. Also the unavailability of wildlife warden and assistant conservator
for one week created little difficulty.
3.5. RESEARCH TOOLS
• Questionnaire
• Microsoft excel
• Microsoft word
• Personal Interviews.
3.6. DATA COLLECTION
Data were collated through interviews with wildlife warden and forest department
employees. The interaction with the local people and tourists has helped me to draw many
conclusions about the process of tourism in the sanctuary. Questionnaire was supplied among
30 tourists to collect the different relevant information to analyse the various deficiencies
present in administering tourism there. All respondents were Indian citizens only.
3.7. PRIMARY DATA
Primary data collection was done among tourists by supplying the questionnaire.
Trekking with tourists and interviewing wildlife warden and assistant conservator enabled me
to collect hand full of information. Interaction with local people also helped to draw some
assumptions.
3.8. SECONDARY DATA:
Number of articles and books made the things easy to collect the secondary data.
Magazine and news paper also were referred to make this project
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CHAPTER -IV
CASE STUDY
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4.1. WAYANAD
Wayanad in the north-east of Kerala, India, was formed on November 1, 1980 as the
12th district by carving out areas from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. Kalpetta is the district
headquarters as well as the only municipal town in the district. Wayanad district has the largest
population of aborigine people in Kerala. The native aadivasis mainly consist of various sects
like Paniyas, Kuruma s, Adiyar s, Kurichya s, Oorali s, Kattunaikkan s etc. Comprising an area
of 2126 km2, Wayanad has a powerful history. Relicts and edicts found in various parts of
Wayanad speak of an important prehistoric era. Historians are of the view that organized human
life existed in these parts, at least ten centuries before Christ.
4.2 Geography
Wayanad district stands on the southern tip of the Deccan plateau and its chief glory is
the majestic rugged terrain of the Western Ghats, with lofty ridges interspersed with dense forest,
tangled jungles and deep valleys. Quite a large area of the district is covered by forest but the
continued and indiscriminate exploitation of the natural resources point towards an imminent
environmental crisis.
The Kabini River, one of the three east flowing rivers of Kerala, is an important tributary
of the Kaveri River. Almost the entire Wayanad district is drained by Kabini and its three
tributaries, the Panamaram, Mananthavady, and Kalindy rivers. The Banasura Sagar Dam is built
on one of tributaries of the Kabini River.
4.3 Climate
The distance from the mean sea level and the amount of forest cover creates a pleasant
climate in the region. Generally the year is divided into four seasons; cold weather (December to
February) hot weather (March to May) South West monsoon (June to September) and North East
monsoon (October to November). During the hot weather the temperature goes up to a maximum
of 35 °C (95 °F) and during the cold weather the temperature goes down to 07 °C (45 °F). The
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greater temperature variation in the last 5–6 years is in the range of 18 °C (64 °F) to 28 °C
(82 °F). The average rainfall is 2,500 millimeters (98 in) per year.
4.4 Economy
Wayanad is 3.79% urbanized. Agriculture, is the main stay of the economy. Coffee, tea,
cocoa, pepper, plantain and vanilla are the main crops. Besides these cash crops, the most
important crop in the district is rice. Dams and aqueducts have been constructed to take water to
the otherwise dry areas in the district. Price of land is going up even though Agrarian crisis.
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Wayanad one of the country's 250 most backward
districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the two districts in Kerala currently receiving funds
from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
4.5 Flora and fauna
The flora of Wayanad are characteristic of the Western Ghats and the plantation crops
grown in the cool climate. A major portion of the district is covered by coffee. Trees of the wild
type like rose-wood, anjili (Artocarpus), mullumurikku (Erthrina), several species of caussia and
many other nondescript varieties are still preserved here and there, to give shade to the coffee
plants. These trees give a dembalance of wilderness to the landscape of Wayanad. In a majority
of coffee plantations, the age-old species are replaced by the silver-oak which is suited to the
cold climate. This tree grows quickly and its cultivation is widespread among coffee plantations
for shade and for giving support to pepper. It is used for the plywood industry and thus is
economical to the farmers. Eucalyptus grandis, a shorter variety of eucalyptus, whose fragrant
smell suffuses the very air around it, is cultivated on a large scale in certain parts of the district.
Eucalyptus oil is extracted on commercial basis from its leaves.
Of the 20,864 hectares of reserve forest, the major portion is teak plantation. Arecanut
palms and jack trees are also grown here. Tea is grown as an industry in large estates. The soil
and climate of Wayanad are suitable for horiculture on commercial basis. For promoting the
cultivation of vegetables and raising of orchards, the Kerala Agricultural University is running a
Regional Agricultural Research Station at Ambalavayal.
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With the clearing of forests, the diverse and bustling animal life, characteristic of the
forests of Western Ghats, has vanished from Wayanad. One can still see the bonnet macaque,
slender loris, mongooses, jungle cats, squirrels, jackals, hares, etc., in the limited forest areas.
The world's most venomous snake, King Cobra is also found here. Elephant, bear and other wild
animals from the neighbouring wild life sanctuaries of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, stray into the
Begur forest range and the forests around Muthanga, which is 20 kilometres away from the town
of Sulthan Bathery. Karapuzha dam near menangadi-10 km, Banasurasagar dam 20 km from
vythri. Today large game is found only in region that border with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Here there is one of the largest concentrations of wild Asiatic elephants in whole world. Tiger,
bison, sambhar, spotted deer, boar, leopard, wild dog and other large mammals are also present
in fairly decent numbers.
Wayanad as a whole district is the single plateau in kerala with 83.3% forest cover
inhabiting a large variety of flora and fauna which are seen none where in yhe world.Neverthless
the growing infrastructural developments and anthroprogenic activities including tourism have
lead wayanad to shed it’s green cover and to push the rare biodiversity to the verge of
extinction.So the scope of studying the impacts of wildlife tourism in wayanad wildlife sanctuary
is crucial.
26
4.6. WAYANAD WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
Wayanad wildlife sanctuary is contiguous to the protected areas of Nagarhole and
Bandipur of Karnataka on the north-east and Mudumalai of Tamilnadu on the south –east. Rich
in biodiversity, the sanctuary is an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Interestingly, it
was from here that Pazhassi Raja fought valiantly against the British.
v Location: 76º 02’and 76º 27’ East Longitude and 11º 35 ‘ and 11º51’ North Latitude.
v Area: 344.44 sq. km.
v Year of formation: Declared a Sanctury during 1973 (GO(MS)182/73/AD/30.05.1973)
v Climate: Temperature varies from 13ºC to 32ºC
v Topography: Altitude ranging from 650 to 1150m . The highest peak is Karottimala
(1158m)
v Rainfall: Average annual rainfall is2000mm.
v Drainage: Cherupuzha, Bavali puzha, Kabani river, Kannaram puzha, Kurichiat puzha,
Chedalathu puzha etc
v Forest Types: The forest types include South Indian Moist Deciduous forests, West
coast semi-evergreen forests and plantations of teak, eucalyptus and Grewelia
v Bio diversity: The major tree species are Tectona grandis, Terminalia sp, Dalbergia
latifolia, Anogeissus latifolia, Grewia tiliaefolia, Adina cordifolia Cirmamumzeylanicum,
Pterocarpus marsupium, Vateria indica, Largerstroemia lanceolata, Artocarpus hirsute,
Macranga peltata etc.
45 species of mammals, 203 sp. of birds, 45 species of reptiles,30 species of amphibians and
59 species of fishes are reported from the sanctuary . Elephant, Gaur, Tiger, Panther,Sambar,
27
Spotted deer, Barking deer, Wild boar, Sloth bear, Nilgiri langur, Bonnet macaque, Common
langur, Wild dog, common otter, Malabar giant squirrel etc are the major mammals.
Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is the second largest protected area in kerala after Periyar
tiger reserve ,which covers 744 sq km.also it is the one and only one sancuatry in kerala that
shares border with two different wildlife sanctuaries in Tamilnadu and Karanataka, which are
Mudumala and Bandipur respectively.It is on the way from Mysore to Sultan Battery. Wild
animals such as Indian Bison, elephant, deer and tiger can be spotted here. There are also quite a
few wild birds in the sanctuary.Peacocks and Peafowl tend to be very common in the area.It is
bestowed with lush green forests and rich wildlife. Also known as the Muthanga Wildlife
Sanctuary, this wildlife area houses some of the rare and endangered species of both flora and
fauna.
Established in 1973, the sanctuary is now an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere
Reserve. It’s bounded by protected area network of Nagarhole and Bandipur of Karnataka in the
northeast, and on the southeast by Mudumalai of Tamil Nadu.It is part of the Wayanad plateau
and the vegetation is predominantly of the south Indian moist deciduous teak forests. Also, the
sanctuary has pastures of the west-coast semi-evergreen trees. The wildlife sanctuary comes
under Project Elephant and one can spot herd of elephants roaming in the area.Elephant rides are
arranged by the Forest Department,Kerala. Discovering and observing the wildlife while being
atop an elephant is an enthralling and unforgettable experience.
It is spread over 344 km² and is about 16 km east of Sultan Battery, the nearest large
town.The sanctuary is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The Western Ghats, Nilgiri Sub-
Cluster (6,000+ km²), including all of the sanctuary, is under consideration by the UNESCO
World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.
28
4.7. Map of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
Figure; 4.1
4.8 History
Wayanad wildlife sanctuary was formed in the year 1973 and was brought under the
Project Elephant in the year 1991-92. This sanctuary occupies an area of 344 km2. Waynad
Wildlife Sanctuary is the second largest one in the state of Kerala. The sanctuary is separated
into two disconnected parts known as the Upper Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in the north and
29
Lower Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in the south. The area in between the two parts was
originally a forest region, though it is now occupied majorly by plantations.
4.9 Tourism activities available in the sanctuary.
Trekking
Kerala forest department does not allow any person other than student/researcher and
foreign national to go for walking trekking in any of the protected area. Pre permission is
required from wildlife warden to camp and trek in the sanctuary. Forest department facilitates the
trekking of the students free of cost whereas an amount is taken from foreign tourists. The
trekking group is accompanied by forests guards and vanasamrakshana samiti members with
armed weapons.
Jeep Trekking
It is the predominant wildlife tourism activity in the sanctuary that attracts thousands of
tourists each year. Tourists can hire taxi jeeps for a stipulated rate normally it is Rs 4oo/-.owned
jeeps are also allowed but heavy vehicles and cars are not allowed inside due to conservational
and tourists’ security issues.One jeep is assigned to 10 tourists with Rs 50/- entrance fee for the
vehicle and Rs 10/- for each tourists. It is Rs 100/- for foreign nationals plus camera and video
charges extra. Tourists are also instructed to pay Rs 100/- as the guide fee for which one member
from vana samrakshnana samiti will accompany the tourists. No pre permission is required to
avail the jeep trekking here, this facility is made available to all tourists who visit the sanctuary.
The timings for jeep trekking are in morning between 7 am and 9 am and evening 3 pm to 5 pm.
Tourists are taken for one and a half hour riding through the forest covering 24 km
distance. The distance sometimes gets reduced due to elephant attacks or rain.
30
Nature camps
Kerala forest department facilities nature camps for different educational institutions and
registered clubs free of cost aiming to spread the nature awareness among students and other
citizens to nurture and to conserve the biodiversity.
Bird watching
It is a growing activity in the sanctuary as people from far places come and take
accommodation in the sanctuary for bird watching.pre permission is an essential thing that must
be taken well before from the wildlife warden.
4.10 Specialties of the sanctuary
Project Elephant 1991
Wayanad wildlife sanctuary is home to approximately 850 wild Asian elephants. Tourists
can see these free ranging pachyderms in any seasons. The national highway which leads to
mysore from Sulthan Bathery is an exciting path for wildlife enthusiasts as it gives them a
chance to witness the elephant in a hand distance. As it is one of the densest elephant haven in
India ,the union government introduced project elephant here in 1991 to give them superior
status in conservation programme.
Proposed Thirunelly- Brahmagiry Elephant corridor
Migration of animals from one reserve to other through a less used pathway for mating,
food, water shelter etc is a common thing in animal kingdom. A corridor is a the pathway or a
narrow forest bridge that is used by the animals to flee from one forest to other is called as
wildlife corridor. Thirunelly –Brahmagiry is such a one identified by Ministry of environment
and forest in Wayanad. This path is used by the elephants to to travel between Thirunelly, which
31
is a part of sanctuary and Brahmagiry which is in northern forest division of Wayanad. Since the
corridor is zigzagged by roads and private plantaions, elephants’ migration causes unwanted
human animal conflicts and disturbance.
The adventure destination of Wayanad ‘Pakshipatalam’ is very close to this corridor, so
the adventure tourists always come across elephants on their way to the top.It is mandatory not to
carry any plastic items by tourists there ,but not all the time it is obeyed. As the tourists leave
plastic bottles and carry bags it becomes either food or trap or death for animals.
Tributary of Kabani
Kabani, one of the three east flowing rivers in Kerala has got a tributary from wayand
wildlife sanctuary. Originating from the Brahmagiry hills the tributary, it is also called as
Kabani, flows near the main gate of wildlife sanctuary to vanish into the big Kabani in the
bordering areas of Kerala and Karnataka. As it is flowing near the entrance gate and national
highway, tourists spend time in banks of river for enjoying the lush greenery and bamboo forest
free of cost. As there is restriction posed by forest officials to utilize this river bank in any form,
it has become a haven of miscreants. Plastic bottles and food items thrown by tourists can be
seen everywhere on the banks.
Increase in the number of tourists in the name of safaris and nature camps has aggravated
the situation in the form of pollution and overcrowding inside as well as outside of the sanctuary.
NH 212 (Recently renamed as NH 766)
National Highway 212 penetrates through the densest part of the sanctuary to lead the
way to Mysore. A person can’t forget the day if he takes a trip through this area. As the
probability to find a wild animal on this way is very high, the high court of Karnataka prohibited
vehicle movement through this area to end the animal vehicle collision and disturbance to
animals after long cry from wildlife conservationists. The ban is still active between 9 pm and 6
am.
32
4.11. Map of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
Figure; 4.2
33
Two parts Separated by Private Plantations and farm lands.
Two parts of the sanctuary namely Muthanga and Tholpetty ranges are separated by
Private farmlands and tea plantation, which pose a huge headache to the forest department to
manage migration of animals between these two areas.. Human elephant or domestic- wild
animal conflict is a common thing near the sanctuary as the parts of the sanctuary are apart.
Since the population of elephant is so dense here the destruction caused to the crops by the herds
is also an uncontrollable menace. Trench of length 300 km has been constructed around the
sanctuary to restrain elephants from intruding into farmlands, but the occasional rains have
caused the trenches too collapse pave the way for elephants to enter in farm lands.
These private plantations and farmlands pose a big issue in terms of tourism, as the
private owners started construction of resorts and other lodging facilities utilizing the proximity
of the sanctuary. Now in and around the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary there are uncountable
numbers of concrete jungles. Though the construction is done in private land, it aggravates the
human animal conflicts as animals have no distinction between private and public land. Even the
tribal people who resides the inside the sanctuary have been approached by land mafia groups
offering huge amount of money to take possession of the land. In the name resorts and other
construction the sanctuary and nearby reserves lose hectares of land each year.
Museum
It is an excellent attraction outside the sanctuary exhibiting different animal parts and full
mounted animals. Through the process of Taxidermy the skins of different animals eg Tiger,
Bear, Deer, panther etc have been kept here. Another attraction is the full skeleton of a tiger
collected from the forests. Horns and cranium of different animals, the teeth of elephant, leg of a
an elephant which ruled the forest once because of its height are the other interesting artifacts
there. Museum offers many diagrams and pictures to learn about different animal habitats and
behavior especially the tiger. The entry to the museum is free of cost.
34
Growing Tiger population
After wildlife senses 2009, it is declared that the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary is home to
14 tigers. As it shares border with Mudumalai tiger reserve the number is not accurate. Tiger
sighting has started becoming an occasional process compared with the sightings 10 years ago.
Recently first time ever in Kerala a Tiger was trapped in cage planted by forest department in a
private plantation nearby the sanctuary, later tiger was freed in distant range of the sanctuary.
The challenge faced by the forest department is the growing number of tourists and lack
of modern tools capable of facing threats from poachers.
4.12. Impacts
The above said activities and special characters directly and indirectly contribute to the
growth of tourism in the sanctuary. As nature law proclaims there is nothing like free lunch , for
all the benefits that we enjoy from the nature have a cost, which are regarded as the degradation
of forest, pollution of environment, destruction of wildlife habitats and death of wildlife , and
human-wildlife conflicts.
The advantages of wildlife tourism in Wayanad wildlife sanctuary can be listed out as
follows.
Financial support for the conservation programme;
Since a reserved forest is meant for the maintenance and safeguarding of wildlife and it’s
environment, the Govt; incurred huge financial burden in older times to stabilize the up keeping
of particular protected area.The development in tourism and other hospitality sector brought
people out of their usual environment to witness the different man made and nature made
attractions. The spurt in eco tourism activities brought tourists to this kind of protected area to
watch and experience the wildlife on it’s natural environment. The money collected out of
exhibiting the area , helps the Kerala forest department to nurture the environment beautifully
and to own different ultra modern equipments like GPS, cameras, weapons for forest guard to
make the conservation process easy.
35
Employment for the local people
The inflow of tourists to the sanctuary has helped the local people to find out ways to
make lively hood out of the tourism activity. Kerala forest department has aggressively taken
steps to recruit the local people including tribal people for the maintenance of sanctuary. Vana
Samrakshana samiti(VSS) is the official name of the union of this people, and it is an ideal
example of community participation in wildlife tourism.
The tourist taxi vehicles inside the sanctuary are of the local people or are driven by local
people. It also gives them a mean for their life. The small and affordable restaurants and tea
shops near the sanctuary are run either by individuals and woman self help groups.
Negative impacts due to wildlife tourism in Wayanad wildlife sanctuary can drawn as
follows.
Environmental degradation
In a wildlife sanctuary the first thing that comes to one’s mind will the lush green
environment. Unfortunately the restless movement of the vehicles inside the sanctuary has
eroded the green color of the trees along the sides of road. Trees are now covered with full dust
and soot, making the birds and other creatures to nest on that.
Pollution
Large number of vehicles and tourists inside the sanctuary has led to the accumulation of
plastics and other non biodegradable materials. Since no strict direction is given to the tourists
not to take those things inside the problem will aggravate more in future. Consumption of
plastics by wildlife animals would lead to the death of those miserably.
Road accidents
Since the sanctuary is on the sides of NH 212 , animals accidents were already a common
issue there. After tourism in the sanctuary became more intensive, these accidents have increased
many folds due to the nonstop movement of vehicles. Thanks to the verdict of Karnataka high
court banning all vehicle movement through the karnatka side. As the Wayanad wildlife
36
sanctuary shares border with the protected area of Karnataka, this verdict brought the road inside
Wayanad wildlife sanctuary empty between 9 pm and 6 am.
Human animal conflicts
Increase encounters between man and animal inside as well as outside of the sanctuary
have led to serious damages to both animal and humans. Day time travelers to the sanctuary get
opportunities to watch herds of elephants on national highway, this has reduced the fear of
tourists towards elephants, and few come out of the vehicle and pose for photo near the elephant.
Not all the times tourists own that photo instead few lose limbs and hands and even life.
37
CHAPTER -V
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
38
5.1. METHDOLOGY OF THE STUDY
Study has been conducted in the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary of Wayanad district if
Kerala for a duration of one month. Continuous interaction with the tourists, local people and the
officials of the forest department to draw the findings. Questionnaires were distributed among 30
tourists who visited the sanctuary during the study time. Based on the responses of the tourists
data interpretation and analysis were done, which intern led to conclusion.
5.2. SAMPLE SIZE
Sample size of this project is 30; they are the tourists who visited the sanctuary during the
time of study.
5.3. DATA COLLECTION
Since one month is not sufficient to the study the impacts completely the interactions
with the forest department officials and local people were the base the project to find out the
impacts produced by wildlife tourism. Tourists’ responses also helped to find out answers for
few objectives.
39
5.3 ANALYSIS OF DATA
Origin of Tourists
Place of origin Number Percent
Karnataka/Tamilnadu 18 60
Wayanad 2 6.6
Other districts of Kerala 8 26.66
Other 2 6.6
Table; 5.1
Figure; 5.1
The graph shown here represents the origin of the tourists who visited the sanctuary. It is
found that the most number of tourists are from Karnataka and Tamilnadu states. Out of which
the is more from Karnataka than Tamilnadu.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Percent
40
Awareness about Ecotourism
Opinion Number Percent
Yes 20 66.6
No 10 33.33
Table; 5.2
Figure; 5.2
20 of the 30 respondents are aware of what is ecotourism. But still there exist 33.3
percent of the tourists who all even after the activity, are not aware of that.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Yes No
Percent
41
Awareness about Wildlife Tourism
Opinion Number Percent
Yes 16 53.33
No 14 46.66
Table; 5.3
Figure; 5.3
Here half of the tourists after enjoying the wildlife tourism activity are not
informed of the exact definition of the wildlife tourism.53.33 percent of the tourists are
unaware of the concept.
42
44
46
48
50
52
54
Yes No
Percent
42
Kind of Tourism Activity Preferred by Tourists
Tourism Activity Number Percent
Jeep trekking 24 80
Bird watching 0 0
Elephant Safari 0 0
Trekking 6 20
Table; 5.4
Figure; 5.4
From the figure it is seen that the predominant wildlife tourism activity in the sanctuary
is the jeep trekking. 80% of the tourists preferred jeep trekking over other activities.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Jeep trekking Bird watching elephant safari Trekking
Percent
43
Whether tourists are interested to visit sanctuary again in future?
Opinion Number Percent
Yes 13 56.66
No 17 43.33
Table; 5.5
Figure; 5.5
More than 50% of the tourists are not interested to visit the sanctuary again because of
different grounds. For some people reason was over crowd, for some tourists it was
unavailability of animals to see.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Yes No
percent
44
Accommodation
Lodging Number Percent
Nearby Resort 8 26.66
Bathery Town 5 16.66
Forest Dormitory 1 3.33
No Accommodation 16 53.33
Table; 5.6
Figure; 5.6
Out 14 tourists who took accommodation, forest dormitory received only one service. Whereas
the nearby resorts received maximum number of tourists.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Nearby Resort Bathery own Forest Dormitory No Accommodation
Percent
45
Number of days Spent by Tourists in the Sanctuary
No; of days Number Percent
Half a day 24 80
Two day 6 20
Table; 5.7
Figure; 5.7
Out of 30 respondents 80% of the tourists spent only half a day in the sanctuary.ie the
time taken for the jeep trekking and visiting museum. No tourist was found who spent one day
there. 6 people, who spent two days there, were from an educational institution, who spent time
for nature camp.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Half a day Two days
Percent
46
Communication with the guide
Opinion Number Percent
No difficulty 8 26.6
A bit difficulty 6 20
Very difficult 16 53.33
Table; 5.8
Figure; 5.8
Since the majority of the respondents are from outside Kerala, they found difficult to
communicate with the guide. The expressions of the guides were the only mean to understand the
things.53.33% of the tourists found it very difficult to understand the language of the guides,
whereas 26.6% found no difficulty.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
No difficulty a bit difficult Very Difficult
Percent
47
Chapter VI
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
48
6.1. FINDINGS
• Wildlife tourism can be conducted in any ecosystem.
• Wildlife tourism has got a controversial role in ecotourism as the fishing and hunting are
parts of this.
• Wildlife tourism produces benefits to local community in terms of income, employment
and exposure to the outer world.
• Majority of tourists spend less than a day in the sanctuary.
• The majority of the tourists in study area are from outside Kerala.
• The forest guards or VSS volunteer is unequipped to explain the things in English or
other language.
• The most preferred Wildlife tourism activity here is the Jeep Trekking.
• Most of the tourists are unaware of the definition of wildlife tourism and ecotourism even
after the visit.
• The accommodation facility provided by the forest department is not up to the level; also
tourists are unaware of the facility.
6.2. SUGGESTIONS
• Since the primary aim of a protected area is the safeguarding of the biodiversity, tourism
should be given the second preference there.
• There should be a maximum number of tourists allowed inside a protected area.
• Proliferation of resorts near any protected area must be controlled.
• To avoid the disappointment of the tourists the captive elephants can be shown.
• Separate training programme must be organized for guide to improve the communication
skill.
• The elephant safari and bird watching activities seem unknown to the tourists. So
promotion of this two through the media and internet must be intensified.
• Since the number of tourists for jeep trekking is very high, it will disturb the wildlife
continuously. To reduce pollution and disturbance inside the sanctuary battery operated
vehicles can be used.
49
6.3. CONCLUSION
As the wildlife tourism industry grows, so have concerns about threats to wildlife
populations and their habitats. A large body of research now exists to show that a wide range of
negative impacts of wildlife tourism can and do occur. This concern is exacerbated by the desire
of some tourists to see threatened species and to travel to increasingly remote areas. To ensure
sustainability of the wildlife resource, appropriate management and monitoring is required, and
some species and situations may even need to be precluded from tourism altogether. On the other
hand, wildlife tourism can also contribute positively to conservation.
If conservation is to be successful in the long term, it must be promoted both inside and
outside protected areas, and must be integrated with the realities of modern economies and
meeting people’s needs. Governments and major international conservation organizations now
widely support the view that well-managed nature based tourism is one form of land use that can
meet these joint goals. In areas where suitable wildlife exists, development of tourism based on
wildlife watching or hunting can provide economic incentives and revenue for conservation of
natural habitats and wildlife. Further, wildlife tourism in some cases provides revenue that helps
fund conservation and there is evidence that there is potential for an increase in this form of
funding.
Current tourism activities and infrastructure in Wayanad Wildlife sanctuary is impinging
on tiger and elephant corridors, and threatens to irretrievably block crucial links and isolate
critical populations. The rapid growth of tourism both in terms of number of tourists and
infrastructure is unsustainable. It can be safely concluded that in its current form tourism is a
serious threat to the sanctuary.
50
APPENDICES
6.1 QUESTIONNAIRE.
Department of Tourism Studies
Pondicherry University
MBA (Tourism)-Final project;
Topic; Impacts of Wildlife Tourism; A case study of Wayanad wildlife sanctuary
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TOURISTS
1. Name :
2 .Profession:
Government job Private job Student
3. Place of origin:
Wayanad Other district of Kerala
Karnataka/ Tamilnadu Other (Mention)
4. Are you aware of ecotourism now ?
Yes No
51
5 Are you aware of wildlife tourism now?
Yes No
6. Compared with other tourist attractions what special thing do you see here?
Natural beauty Good environment
Less noise All the above
7. How often do you come here?
First time Occasionally
8. Was this sanctuary there in your itinerary?
Yes No
.9. Kind of tourism activity you did here?
Jeep Trekking Elephant safari
Bird watching Trekking / camping
52
10 Would you like to come here again?
Yes No
11 If no, Why?
Could not see any animals Its crowded here
Expensive All the above
12. Where did you take accommodation?
Nearby Resort Sulthan Bathery
Forest department Dormitory No accommodation
13. How many days did you spend here?
Half a day One day
Two days More than two days
14. Did any forest guard/ VSS volunteer accompany you?
Yes No
15. Did you feel any difficulty to understand the words of guide?
No A bit difficult Very difficult
53
16 . Do you think the experience here is matching with the money that you spent?
It is matching Priceless experience
Fee is more here
17 . What do you think about giving an awareness class for all tourists visit here?
Good Not good
Thank You……………
54
6.1 REFERENCE
Books
Ø Wildlife Tourism – By David Newsome, Ross Kingston.
Ø Wildlife Tourism-By Myra l Shackley.
Ø Wildlife tourism: impacts, management and planning_-By Karen Higginbottom.
Ø Conservation and sustainable use- By E J Milner- Gulland.
Ø Indigenous peoples, wildlife & ecotourism: emerging issues and trends‐By
K.T. Suresh, Syed Liyakhat, Saroop Roy.
Ø Mathrubhumi Yatra
Websites
Ø www.forest.kerala.gov.in
Ø www.moef.nic.in
Ø www.dtpcwayanad.com
Ø www.wildlife.org
Ø www. books.google.co.in
CHAPTER –I
INTRODUCTION
2
1.1. MAN VERSES WILD
Human fascination with animals has been around as long as the two coexisted on planet
earth. Relationships between humans and animals can take different forms including being food
source, clothing or shelter, use for scientific and medical researches , sport or entertainment; as a
form of companionship and or a point of connection with the natural world. Understanding this
relationship with animals is important because it shapes our feelings actions towards them. This
has a direct bearing on our view of animals in and for tourism.
According to Malcolm Hunter’s live short history, the term ‘wildlife’ is less than a
century old and was not included in major dictionaries in before 1961 in the United States and
before 1986 in United Kingdom. Ominously its first use was in a book published in 1913 called
our vanishing wildlife; which foreshadowed the conservation crisis apparent during the second
half of the 20th century. Definition of wildlife often referred game animals, while other includes
all non-domesticated vertebrates and in some in some cases invertebrates and plants. This
ambiguity creates problems when stakeholders with differing understanding s of what is included
under the term ‘wildlife; debate management issues. The development of term wildlife was
accompanied by the growth of interrelated academic disciplines of wildlife biology, wildlife
management and wildlife conservation.
There are now specialist societies and journals devoted to the study of academic
courses in wildlife biology at any universities. Wildlife co-exists with humans but has generally
been viewed as a resource by them. Traditional approaches to the conservations of wildlife have
entered around their use to humankind.Even today the medicinal, agricultural and industrial
importance of wildlife is stressed alongside of the aesthetic and ethical value. The viewing of
wildlife as part of nature is generally regarded as being either restorative or as a competence
builder. These two themes seem to derive their origins in the overall view that humans have of
the world. Generally there are two world views, and people differ over how serious our
environmental problems are due to their different worldviews .Worldviews come in different but
the two most common vary according to whether or they put human at the centre of things.
3
Two examples are human centered or anthropocentric world view that underlies most
industrial societies such as Australia and eco centric or life-centric worldview. Key principles of
the human centric worldview are that humans are the planet’s most important species and that
humans are apart from and in charge of the rest of the nature. It assumes the earth has an
unlimited supply of resources to which access is gained through science and technology. Other
people believe that any human centered worldview, even stewardship, is unsustainable. It is
suggested that human worldviews must be expanded to recognize inherent or intrinsic value
for all forms of life that is value regardless of the potential or actual use to humanity. This is a
life centered or eco centric world view in which humans believe that it is use full recognize
biodiversity as a vital element of earth for all life.
The eco centric world view believes that nature exists for all earth species and that
people are not apart from or in charge of the rest of natures. The according to Miller (2004
Biologist), people made the earth. But the earth does not need people. He suggests that some
forms of economic growth are beneficial and some are harmful and that human goal should be to
design economical and political system that encourage sustainable forms of growth and
discourage or prohibit forms which cause degradation or pollution. A healthy economy depends
on a healthy environment as human survival life quality and economies are totally dependent on
the rest of the nature.
1.2. Human-wild life encounters
Reverence for, the use of, and the appreciation probably goes back to prehistoric
time, when human lives were linked with the animal lived around them. Throughout human
history varies species have been domesticated and kept as pets and it’s clear that animals play a
diverse and crucial role in human society today. In more reason time people’s appreciation of
animals has become linked to issues concerning human related impacts on natural world such has
environmental degradation, ecological sustainability and loss of biological diversity. Wild life
tourism fundamentally comprises the viewing of wild animals.
The desire to view wild animals sits within the complex frame work that may result in
target species being influenced in and unnatural negative way. People’s views of the world form
4
a part of their approach to wild life and their encounters with them the influence of the television
documentaries has particularly shaped the views of wild life of the people in the western world.
For many urban dwellers their view of natural areas and animals within has almost being
exclusively shaped by their view of the world as seen through the media of television, and to a
lesser extent, motion pictures. Thus it could be argued that this virtual experience often
represents their first and sometimes their only encounters with wild life. Other encounters may
be gained from viewing wild life in captive situations such as zoos, aviaries or aquariums.
1.3. Spectrum of wild life tourism: Selected examples
Animal group of
principal interest
Tourism activity Example of location
Insects Butterfly viewing Baynes reserve,
Berkshire,England
Insects Glowworm viewing Springbrook national park,
Australia
Crustaceans Red crab migration Christmas islans . Indian ocean
Fish Snorkel in fresh water Bonato,prata river. Brazil
Fish and invertebrates Snorkel/scuba dive coral reefs Ningalu reef and great barrier
reef, Australia
Fish Snorkel with whale sharks Ningalu reef, australiaa
Fish Feeding and close interaction
with stingrays
Cayman island, Maldives,
Fish Under water viewing Dyer Islands. SA
Reptiles Observing komodo dragons Komodo island ,Indonesia
5
Reptiles Viewing turtle egg laying
process
Exmouth and
monrepose,Australia
Reptiles and Birds Observe python and birds Bharatpur India
Reptiles Observe crocodiles via boat
tours
Kakadu national park,Australia
Birds Independent or organized visit
to reserves for birds watching
Uk,India,USA,Europe,Africa
Birds Visits to sea bird breeding
island
UK,Australia.USa
Birds and reptiles Boat trips on wetlands Kakadu National park,Australia
Birds and Mammals Islands containing rare
endangered species.
Kapati island ,Newzealand
Birds Independent travelers and coach
tours to see breeding albatross
colony
Tayaroa Head Newzealand
Mammals Vehicle safari to see large
concentration of mammals
Massaimara ,Kenya
Mammals Tiger viewing from hides or
elephant backs
Chitwan national park.nepal
India
Mammals Mountain trek and camping in
order to observe habituated
gorillas
Virunga National Park,west
Africa
Mammals Guided tour to observe Atherton table land
6
nocturnal species Australia(Vehicle access and
night walk)
Mammals Boat/and or shore based
observations of cetaceans and
pinnipeds
Austarlia.SA.Argentina.USA
Table; 1.1
1.4. Where is the wildlife?
The world's highest levels of biodiversity occur in less-developed countries and these
offer some of the world's most well-known wildlife-watching destinations. These were Eastern
Africa (particularly safari-style viewing of large cats and ungulates), followed by Central and
Southern America (rainforest wildlife and the Galapagos National Park). In some of the countries
in these regions (e.g. Kenya, Costa Rica, Ecuador), wildlife is the major motivation for tourism.
Although wildlife occurs across the world, there are several variables that may influence the
development of a wildlife watching tourism industry. Global biodiversity is far from uniformly
spread across the planet. In general, tropical regions have the greatest proportion of biodiversity
and these coincide with the relatively less developed countries. For most life on earth we do not
have accurate counts of the numbers of species, and many scientists acknowledge the limited
prospect of identifying all the species before some disappear in the face of the present
extinction.Even the estimates of numbers of species vary widely (from about 5 million out to 100
million) but all are well above the current number of described species (around 1.5 million).
Only a much more limited number feature prominently in wildlife tourism.
7
1.5. What is wildlife tourism?
Wildlife tourism is tourism based on encounters with non-domesticated (non-human)
animals. These encounters can occur in either the animals’ natural environment or in captivity. It
includes activities historically classified as ‘non-consumptive’, such as viewing, photography
and feeding, as well as those that involve killing or capturing animals, particularly hunting (in
the terrestrial environment) and recreational fishing (in the aquatic environment). Wildlife
tourism can entail: attractions at fixed sites, tours, experiences available in association with
tourist accommodation, or it can occur as unguided encounters by independent travelers.
Tourism is the sum of government and private sector activities that shape and serve the
needs and manage the consequences of holiday, business and other travel.A ‘tourist’ is a person
who travels 40km or more away from their home for a period of at least one night, for any reason
other than paid employment. In some cases the more general term ‘visitor’ to mean a person who
undertakes temporary travel outside their home to another location for any purpose other than
engaging in paid employment in the location visited .Here the definition of ‘wildlife’ restricted
to fauna (animals), to coincide with general use of the term by the tourism industry and public.
The term ‘animal’ is defined in the biological sense to mean any member of the Kingdom
Animalia (except humans). It thus includes not only land dwelling vertebrates such as mammals,
birds and lizards, but also aquatic vertebrates that usually live in the sea or inland waters, such as
platypus, fish and turtles. It also includes invertebrates such as glow-worms, butterflies, corals
and starfish. Wildlife is not restricted to animals that are native to the country in question (such
as kangaroos and emus in Australia) but also includes exotic animals, whether held in captivity,
or introduced into the natural environment either deliberately or accidentally (such as feral pigs
and camels in Australia).
The term ‘non-domesticated’ is preferred to ‘wild’ because it is unclear whether the
latter term applies to the species or its setting (e.g. a tiger in a zoo is a non-domesticated species,
but some might argue it is no longer wild). ‘Wildlife tourism’ can be applied at a number of
hierarchical scales. Its application is complicated by the fact that many tourism experiences and
products feature wildlife as only one component of a travel package. At the lowest hierarchical
level, wildlife tourism is that component of a tourism experience or product that is based on
wildlife. At the next level, it can be applied to tourism products. For convenience, a whale
8
watching tour and an eco tour that includes wildlife are both considered wildlife tourism
products. It can also be applied to businesses that offer a wildlife tourism product. Thus, a zoo
and a farm-stay business that includes viewing of wild animals (among other experiences) are
both considered wildlife tourism businesses.. At the highest level, some places, such as the
Galapagos Islands and Kenya can reasonably be described as wildlife tourism destinations.
As a tourism product category wildlife tourism overlaps with other classes of tourism,
particularly nature-based tourism, special interest tourism and ecotourism. The extent of this
overlap depends on exactly how these terms are defined. It is considered that most wildlife
tourism is a subset of nature-based tourism, since animals are a subset of nature, although zoos
and other attractions where wildlife are kept in captivity are not seen by few other as naturebased
tourism. Wildlife tourism can be considered a form of ecotourism when it occurs within
the context of nature-based activities that provides environmental interpretation and adopts
environmentally responsible practices. In cases where a tourist travels to a particular destination
primarily for the purpose of having a wildlife experience, then wildlife tourism can be seen as a
form of special interest tourism.
1.6. Stake holders
There are a range of stakeholders on wildlife tourism. This include host community,
tourists, tour operator and managers and aa a whole range of other groups, organizations,
association and government bodies. Importantly it also includes any person or group who
expresses an interest and/or involvement in wildlife tourism. Thus working with stakeholders to
advance the goals of wildlife tourism is a complex issue but one which must be addressed if
successful wildlife tourism to occur.
Involvement of the local community is based on the objective that the local communities
should benefit from wildlife tourism occurring in their locality. Benefits can be financial,
employment, increased provision of services and facilities, and better planning, management and
operation of wildlife tourism. Involvement can be as operators providers of goods and services
9
employees, guides and trainers; and participation in wildlife tourism planning, management and
operation, interaction of the community with tourists or as recipients of income.
Elements concerned with wildlife tourism have been sectioned into the following five
themes:
• Visitors
• Economics
• The Wildlife Experience
• Host Communities
• Wildlife Impacts and Management
Figure; 1.1
This project has touched all the above elements in a moderate level to draw the required
objectives. Hunting and fishing and marine wildlife have been exclude as these two need a wider
approach to be studied.
Visitors
Wildlife Experience Host
Wildlife Impacts and Management
Economics
10
CHAPTER- II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
11
2.1. Contributions of Wildlife Tourism
To Conservation
In wildlife tourism it is crucial not only to the conservation of the animals, but also to the
sustainability of businesses concerned, that the net effects of tourism on wildlife are not negative
.Further, there is increasing consensus among international tourism and conservation
organizations, as well as national governments, that nature-based or wildlife tourism should go
beyond minimizing negative impacts on the environment, and contribute positively to
conservation. The net effects of wildlife tourism on wildlife are a result of the balance between
any negative impacts of the tourism-related activities on the animals and any, generally indirect,
positive contributions to their conservation. While the potential negative effects have been
researched in some detail there has been little attempt to systematically research and quantify
these positive effects, and most ofthe available information is anecdotal.
The main ways in which wildlife tourism can (in theory) provide benefits to conservation
are illustrated in Figure . It shows the links between key components of the system: wildlife,
people and money. Most of these links apply potentially to all forms of wildlife tourism.
Ultimately, conservation of wildlife involves what people do (or do not do), directly or
indirectly, to wild animals or their habitats that increases the chances of long-term persistence of
wild populations. The ways in which wildlife tourism is potentially associated with conservation
benefits can be classified into one (or more) of a number of categories:
• Direct wildlife management, and supporting research – considered here to be deliberate
manipulations of wild animals or their habitats to achieve conservation goals, by tourism
operators or by their clients as part of tourism activities;
• Use of income derived from wildlife tourism to fund conservation initiatives -
This income can be used to fund the operator’s own wildlife management efforts, or can be
donated to other organizations who carry out such initiatives;
12
• Provision of socio-economic incentives for conservation – operators engaging in wildlife
tourism, or communities receiving economic or social benefits from wildlife tourism, have an
incentive to act in a way that supports the conservation of the wildlife resource on which those
benefits are based;
• Education of visitors such that they act to support or enhance conservation -
This may be through enhanced political support or pressure for conservation by visitors, through
influencing their behavior towards wildlife, or through prompting them to make voluntary
donations to conservation.
Potential positive consequences of wildlife tourism for conservation.
Figure; 2.1
13
2.2. Economics of wildlife tourism;
There is a range of government charges on commercial nature-based tourism operators
and tourists. This revenue is intended to contribute to the costs of management associated with
tourism activities. Most of these fees relate to use of protected areas (where a large proportion of
wildlife watching occurs). Less common is the practice of requiring permits (with associated
fees) for tourism operators who offer close encounters with particular species of wildlife that are
of conservation concern, even if outside protected areas
Types of government-administered user fees applied to wildlife tourism
Charges relating to nature-based tourism that may include a wildlife component
1. Entrance fees to protected areas
2. Fees for use of services or facilities in protected areas
3. Visitor levies applying to protected areas
4. License fees for commercial tour operators in protected areas
5. Concession and lease fees for commercial operations within protected areas
6. Merchandising revenue and royalties associated with protected areas
7. Taxes
Charges specific to wildlife tourism
1. License fees for commercial operators who provide encounters with wildlife species
of particular conservation concern (even outside protected areas)
2. License fees for exhibition of captive native wildlife
3. License fees for recreational-fishing operators, even outside protected areas
4. License fees for individuals who participate in recreational fishing or hunting
5. Admission/tour fees at government-owned wildlife tourism attractions; generally
Involving those in protected areas and certain captive wildlife attractions
6. Merchandising revenue and royalties associated with wildlife tourism attractions
14
However, revenues from parks around the world are generally not sufficient to offset
fully their operating costs, let alone to provide net funding for conservation. There are a few
notable exceptions. User fees at some parks or in some regions provide revenues that not only
support their own operations but also provide funding for conservation measures. Further, it has
been argued that there are opportunities for substantially increasing entrance fees to many
protected areas worldwide.
2.3. Black economics behind wildlife tourism;
India’s premier protected area the Corbett Tiger Reserve is always in controversy in
administering wildlife tourism here. Corbett sees over two lakh visitors annually. Figures shown
in report say that 150 vehicles with about 600 people are allowed in everyday. And there is
accommodation for over 3,000 around the reserve. Which means there is intense pressure on
park officials, and has encouraged corruption (for instance, this new year, the going rate charged
by some tour operators for a room in Dhikala( Forest Lodge) was reportedly over Rs 30,000 ‐
while officially the rate is about Rs1,500). Every morning there is mayhem at the booking
office—and a former park director complained that “too much attention and time of park
officials and staffs diverted towards tourism.”(From a study for ministry of tourism .Govt of
India by Prerna Singh Bindra).
15
2.4. Host Communities
The growth and popularity of certain forms of wildlife tourism poses increasing
opportunities and threats for host communities. Wildlife tourism depends on a viable resource
(wildlife), an interested market (tourists) and accommodating locals (hosts). Wildlife tourism
activities have many potential impacts on a host community, and the host community can impact
on wildlife tourism activities. Any increase in wildlife tourism is likely to be accompanied by a
growth in the number of people affected by it, and thus a challenge for the wildlife tourism
industry is to maximize cultural, economic and social benefits for the host community while
minimizing any adverse effects. Frequently referred to in tourism literature, ‘host community’ is
often presented as synonymous with ‘residents’, ‘locals’, ‘public’ or ‘citizens’. Such terms,
however, rarely distinguish between hosts as suppliers and tourists as users of tourism resources.
An important characteristic of the host community is that it does not constitute a unified whole,
and its constituent groups of stakeholders and individuals are rarely homogenous. Divergent
interests exist amongst host community members and recognition of this is essential for tourism
planners, developers, and managers. Consequently, when comment is made on host support, or
otherwise, it is important to recognize that variations in level of support may exist within the
same community.
Generally, tourism offers Indigenous communities the opportunity to gain economic
benefits from wildlife and to communicate Indigenous knowledge and understandings of wildlife
to visitors. Although Indigenous peoples have limited involvement in wildlife tourism,
Indigenous land-ownership and Indigenous knowledge of country and wildlife indicate the
potential for growth in this area. The relationship between Indigenous peoples and Australian
wildlife includes traditional cultural, and spiritual dimensions, as well as ongoing use of wildlife
for food and artifacts, and more recent commercial uses including wildlife farms and tourism.
Hosts have much to offer wildlife tourism and wildlife tourism has much to offer hosts.
Through extensive traditional and in-depth local, knowledge host communities can enhance the
wildlife experience for tourists and positively contribute to species and ecosystem conservation;
thus increasing the possibility of wildlife tourism being sustainable. Effective host participation
16
in planning and management can build support for wildlife tourism developments, create new
partnerships, help resolve conflicts between stakeholders, and provide an additional source of
knowledge and labour. Revenue, via compensation and employment, from wildlife tourism can
increase host communities’ standards of living. However, revenue from and distribution needs to
be carefully considered through a process that includes the active participation of hosts and this
needs to be balanced against the substantial costs in money and time required for comprehensive
programs of stakeholder participation.
2.5. Hosts and sustainability
Ø The host community is also an important element to consider in the concept of
sustainability. The sustainability of wildlife tourism isdependent, in part, on its support
from the area’s residents.
Ø Host satisfaction is related to both the involvement of local community members in
wildlife tourism activities, and the benefits and disadvantages of wildlife tourism to host
communities.
Ø Social and cultural issues need to be considered because of the importance of host
acceptance. Determining how to make a wildlife tourism attraction sustainable from the
perspective of the host community requires an understanding of the interplay of elements
affecting both the perception of, and support for, that tourism.
2.6. Impacts and attitudes
Ø The actual and perceived impacts of wildlife tourism will influence the attitudes of the
host community and ultimately have an effect on sustainability. It is postulated that
wildlife tourism will only be sustainable where there are benefits for the host
community.
Ø Impacts on the social environment are likely to affect the behaviour of individuals,
community groups, lifestyles, value systems and religious or traditional ceremonies. The
17
magnitude of the impacts is likely to vary with the number of tourists, the length of stay,
the importance of the wildlife to community life before tourism, and its place in cultural
history.
2.7. Negative Effects of Wildlife Tourism on
Wildlife
Tourism is increasingly being seen as a threat to wildlife and ecosystems .Although it is
often assumed that wildlife tourism is environmentally friendly because wildlife tourists tend to
empathize with conservation and animal welfare issues, even conservationists and animal-lovers
can cause unwitting damage. Moreover, whilst many wildlife tour operators are socially and
environmentally responsible, this is not universal. Wildlife tourism operators need to ensure they
do not damage the very wildlife populations their businesses depend on. It is also in their best
interests to demonstrate to their industry that they are not diminishing resources used by other
operators, and to prove to the accreditation bodies and concerned tourists that environmental
impacts, including those on non-target wildlife, are minimized. Information on effects of wildlife
tourism on wildlife is progressively accumulating, which means that management guidelines
have to be dynamic and adaptive if best-practice management is to be maintained. Tour
operators, planners and managers must keep themselves informed of actual and potential
negative effects, in the same way that it is in the best interests of restaurant managers to keep
themselves updated on possible causes of food poisoning.
Wildlife tourism can result in a range of negative effects. These vary from short term
changes in physiology or behavior of individual animals through to long-term effects such as
increased mortality or reduced breeding success of entire populations, and impacts at the
ecosystem level, including effects on cryptic or less ‘exciting’ wildlife that are not the major
focus of tourism. Short-term effects can cumulatively develop into long-term impacts and effects
on individual animals can cumulatively affect populations and ecosystems. The severity of
negative effects of wildlife tourism on wildlife varies considerably with the animal itself, its
species, age, sex, physical condition and stage of breeding, the kind of habitat it occupies,
whether it is close to other animals, and previous encounters with wildlife tourism or other
18
human activity. Severity will also vary with type, frequency and intensity of wildlife tourism,
distance between a person (or vehicle) and the animal, and stimuli such as sound, light and
sudden movements.
The main effects on wildlife can be summarized as follows
• Health issues caused by humans include the risk of disease transference.
• Disturbance to animal’s hunting and feeding.
• Disturbance to animal’s mating.
• Continuous contact reduces the fear of animal towards the humans which will
result in greater problems like crop destruction, personal threats.
19
CHAPTER- III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
20
3.1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The encounter between the visitor and the wildlife comprises the core of a wildlife
tourism experience. This experience is a result of the interaction of elements relating to the
natural resource base (wildlife and associated habitat), the visitor, the operator and host
community, the economy and any management set in place. The consequences for the natural
environment and for host communities can be positive, neutral or negative. Here the research
investigates the possible impacts inters of the Economics and the loss to the biodiversity.
3.2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
• To identify different wildlife tourism activities across the world.
• To identify the different impacts it creates on Biodiversity.
• To measure the economics it produces in local community and nation.
• To find out the different impacts wildlife tourism created in the study area.
• To identify the deficiencies in administering wildlife tourism in Wayanad wildlife
sanctuary.
• To suggest measures to overcome or to reduce the negative impacts.
3.3. SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH
Tourism experiences involving wildlife vary greatly in the emphasis or intensity of
encounters. In some cases the wildlife forms the basis and entirety of the tour package, as in
dedicated bird watching or whale-watching trips. In some, while wildlife may provide a focus
and incentive, there are other attributes of significance within the trip, such as cultural
experiences. Though game parks are not there in India, it is also a recognized hub for wildlife
tourism. Corbett national park being the prime tiger destination India has got numerous other
parks and wildlife sanctuaries.664 different protected areas in India offer a wide variety of
wildlife tourism experience to domestic as well as international tourists. Periyar tiger reserve in
kerala attracts most number of visitors to a protected area in India. The ultimate effect it
21
produces among the local community as well in national international level has to be measured
for the smooth existence both biodiversity and local people.
3.4. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Closing of wildlife sanctuary for a period of one month due to wild fire made the data
collection to lag extremely. Also the unavailability of wildlife warden and assistant conservator
for one week created little difficulty.
3.5. RESEARCH TOOLS
• Questionnaire
• Microsoft excel
• Microsoft word
• Personal Interviews.
3.6. DATA COLLECTION
Data were collated through interviews with wildlife warden and forest department
employees. The interaction with the local people and tourists has helped me to draw many
conclusions about the process of tourism in the sanctuary. Questionnaire was supplied among
30 tourists to collect the different relevant information to analyse the various deficiencies
present in administering tourism there. All respondents were Indian citizens only.
3.7. PRIMARY DATA
Primary data collection was done among tourists by supplying the questionnaire.
Trekking with tourists and interviewing wildlife warden and assistant conservator enabled me
to collect hand full of information. Interaction with local people also helped to draw some
assumptions.
3.8. SECONDARY DATA:
Number of articles and books made the things easy to collect the secondary data.
Magazine and news paper also were referred to make this project
22
CHAPTER -IV
CASE STUDY
23
4.1. WAYANAD
Wayanad in the north-east of Kerala, India, was formed on November 1, 1980 as the
12th district by carving out areas from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. Kalpetta is the district
headquarters as well as the only municipal town in the district. Wayanad district has the largest
population of aborigine people in Kerala. The native aadivasis mainly consist of various sects
like Paniyas, Kuruma s, Adiyar s, Kurichya s, Oorali s, Kattunaikkan s etc. Comprising an area
of 2126 km2, Wayanad has a powerful history. Relicts and edicts found in various parts of
Wayanad speak of an important prehistoric era. Historians are of the view that organized human
life existed in these parts, at least ten centuries before Christ.
4.2 Geography
Wayanad district stands on the southern tip of the Deccan plateau and its chief glory is
the majestic rugged terrain of the Western Ghats, with lofty ridges interspersed with dense forest,
tangled jungles and deep valleys. Quite a large area of the district is covered by forest but the
continued and indiscriminate exploitation of the natural resources point towards an imminent
environmental crisis.
The Kabini River, one of the three east flowing rivers of Kerala, is an important tributary
of the Kaveri River. Almost the entire Wayanad district is drained by Kabini and its three
tributaries, the Panamaram, Mananthavady, and Kalindy rivers. The Banasura Sagar Dam is built
on one of tributaries of the Kabini River.
4.3 Climate
The distance from the mean sea level and the amount of forest cover creates a pleasant
climate in the region. Generally the year is divided into four seasons; cold weather (December to
February) hot weather (March to May) South West monsoon (June to September) and North East
monsoon (October to November). During the hot weather the temperature goes up to a maximum
of 35 °C (95 °F) and during the cold weather the temperature goes down to 07 °C (45 °F). The
24
greater temperature variation in the last 5–6 years is in the range of 18 °C (64 °F) to 28 °C
(82 °F). The average rainfall is 2,500 millimeters (98 in) per year.
4.4 Economy
Wayanad is 3.79% urbanized. Agriculture, is the main stay of the economy. Coffee, tea,
cocoa, pepper, plantain and vanilla are the main crops. Besides these cash crops, the most
important crop in the district is rice. Dams and aqueducts have been constructed to take water to
the otherwise dry areas in the district. Price of land is going up even though Agrarian crisis.
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Wayanad one of the country's 250 most backward
districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the two districts in Kerala currently receiving funds
from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
4.5 Flora and fauna
The flora of Wayanad are characteristic of the Western Ghats and the plantation crops
grown in the cool climate. A major portion of the district is covered by coffee. Trees of the wild
type like rose-wood, anjili (Artocarpus), mullumurikku (Erthrina), several species of caussia and
many other nondescript varieties are still preserved here and there, to give shade to the coffee
plants. These trees give a dembalance of wilderness to the landscape of Wayanad. In a majority
of coffee plantations, the age-old species are replaced by the silver-oak which is suited to the
cold climate. This tree grows quickly and its cultivation is widespread among coffee plantations
for shade and for giving support to pepper. It is used for the plywood industry and thus is
economical to the farmers. Eucalyptus grandis, a shorter variety of eucalyptus, whose fragrant
smell suffuses the very air around it, is cultivated on a large scale in certain parts of the district.
Eucalyptus oil is extracted on commercial basis from its leaves.
Of the 20,864 hectares of reserve forest, the major portion is teak plantation. Arecanut
palms and jack trees are also grown here. Tea is grown as an industry in large estates. The soil
and climate of Wayanad are suitable for horiculture on commercial basis. For promoting the
cultivation of vegetables and raising of orchards, the Kerala Agricultural University is running a
Regional Agricultural Research Station at Ambalavayal.
25
With the clearing of forests, the diverse and bustling animal life, characteristic of the
forests of Western Ghats, has vanished from Wayanad. One can still see the bonnet macaque,
slender loris, mongooses, jungle cats, squirrels, jackals, hares, etc., in the limited forest areas.
The world's most venomous snake, King Cobra is also found here. Elephant, bear and other wild
animals from the neighbouring wild life sanctuaries of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, stray into the
Begur forest range and the forests around Muthanga, which is 20 kilometres away from the town
of Sulthan Bathery. Karapuzha dam near menangadi-10 km, Banasurasagar dam 20 km from
vythri. Today large game is found only in region that border with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Here there is one of the largest concentrations of wild Asiatic elephants in whole world. Tiger,
bison, sambhar, spotted deer, boar, leopard, wild dog and other large mammals are also present
in fairly decent numbers.
Wayanad as a whole district is the single plateau in kerala with 83.3% forest cover
inhabiting a large variety of flora and fauna which are seen none where in yhe world.Neverthless
the growing infrastructural developments and anthroprogenic activities including tourism have
lead wayanad to shed it’s green cover and to push the rare biodiversity to the verge of
extinction.So the scope of studying the impacts of wildlife tourism in wayanad wildlife sanctuary
is crucial.
26
4.6. WAYANAD WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
Wayanad wildlife sanctuary is contiguous to the protected areas of Nagarhole and
Bandipur of Karnataka on the north-east and Mudumalai of Tamilnadu on the south –east. Rich
in biodiversity, the sanctuary is an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Interestingly, it
was from here that Pazhassi Raja fought valiantly against the British.
v Location: 76º 02’and 76º 27’ East Longitude and 11º 35 ‘ and 11º51’ North Latitude.
v Area: 344.44 sq. km.
v Year of formation: Declared a Sanctury during 1973 (GO(MS)182/73/AD/30.05.1973)
v Climate: Temperature varies from 13ºC to 32ºC
v Topography: Altitude ranging from 650 to 1150m . The highest peak is Karottimala
(1158m)
v Rainfall: Average annual rainfall is2000mm.
v Drainage: Cherupuzha, Bavali puzha, Kabani river, Kannaram puzha, Kurichiat puzha,
Chedalathu puzha etc
v Forest Types: The forest types include South Indian Moist Deciduous forests, West
coast semi-evergreen forests and plantations of teak, eucalyptus and Grewelia
v Bio diversity: The major tree species are Tectona grandis, Terminalia sp, Dalbergia
latifolia, Anogeissus latifolia, Grewia tiliaefolia, Adina cordifolia Cirmamumzeylanicum,
Pterocarpus marsupium, Vateria indica, Largerstroemia lanceolata, Artocarpus hirsute,
Macranga peltata etc.
45 species of mammals, 203 sp. of birds, 45 species of reptiles,30 species of amphibians and
59 species of fishes are reported from the sanctuary . Elephant, Gaur, Tiger, Panther,Sambar,
27
Spotted deer, Barking deer, Wild boar, Sloth bear, Nilgiri langur, Bonnet macaque, Common
langur, Wild dog, common otter, Malabar giant squirrel etc are the major mammals.
Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is the second largest protected area in kerala after Periyar
tiger reserve ,which covers 744 sq km.also it is the one and only one sancuatry in kerala that
shares border with two different wildlife sanctuaries in Tamilnadu and Karanataka, which are
Mudumala and Bandipur respectively.It is on the way from Mysore to Sultan Battery. Wild
animals such as Indian Bison, elephant, deer and tiger can be spotted here. There are also quite a
few wild birds in the sanctuary.Peacocks and Peafowl tend to be very common in the area.It is
bestowed with lush green forests and rich wildlife. Also known as the Muthanga Wildlife
Sanctuary, this wildlife area houses some of the rare and endangered species of both flora and
fauna.
Established in 1973, the sanctuary is now an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere
Reserve. It’s bounded by protected area network of Nagarhole and Bandipur of Karnataka in the
northeast, and on the southeast by Mudumalai of Tamil Nadu.It is part of the Wayanad plateau
and the vegetation is predominantly of the south Indian moist deciduous teak forests. Also, the
sanctuary has pastures of the west-coast semi-evergreen trees. The wildlife sanctuary comes
under Project Elephant and one can spot herd of elephants roaming in the area.Elephant rides are
arranged by the Forest Department,Kerala. Discovering and observing the wildlife while being
atop an elephant is an enthralling and unforgettable experience.
It is spread over 344 km² and is about 16 km east of Sultan Battery, the nearest large
town.The sanctuary is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The Western Ghats, Nilgiri Sub-
Cluster (6,000+ km²), including all of the sanctuary, is under consideration by the UNESCO
World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.
28
4.7. Map of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
Figure; 4.1
4.8 History
Wayanad wildlife sanctuary was formed in the year 1973 and was brought under the
Project Elephant in the year 1991-92. This sanctuary occupies an area of 344 km2. Waynad
Wildlife Sanctuary is the second largest one in the state of Kerala. The sanctuary is separated
into two disconnected parts known as the Upper Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in the north and
29
Lower Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in the south. The area in between the two parts was
originally a forest region, though it is now occupied majorly by plantations.
4.9 Tourism activities available in the sanctuary.
Trekking
Kerala forest department does not allow any person other than student/researcher and
foreign national to go for walking trekking in any of the protected area. Pre permission is
required from wildlife warden to camp and trek in the sanctuary. Forest department facilitates the
trekking of the students free of cost whereas an amount is taken from foreign tourists. The
trekking group is accompanied by forests guards and vanasamrakshana samiti members with
armed weapons.
Jeep Trekking
It is the predominant wildlife tourism activity in the sanctuary that attracts thousands of
tourists each year. Tourists can hire taxi jeeps for a stipulated rate normally it is Rs 4oo/-.owned
jeeps are also allowed but heavy vehicles and cars are not allowed inside due to conservational
and tourists’ security issues.One jeep is assigned to 10 tourists with Rs 50/- entrance fee for the
vehicle and Rs 10/- for each tourists. It is Rs 100/- for foreign nationals plus camera and video
charges extra. Tourists are also instructed to pay Rs 100/- as the guide fee for which one member
from vana samrakshnana samiti will accompany the tourists. No pre permission is required to
avail the jeep trekking here, this facility is made available to all tourists who visit the sanctuary.
The timings for jeep trekking are in morning between 7 am and 9 am and evening 3 pm to 5 pm.
Tourists are taken for one and a half hour riding through the forest covering 24 km
distance. The distance sometimes gets reduced due to elephant attacks or rain.
30
Nature camps
Kerala forest department facilities nature camps for different educational institutions and
registered clubs free of cost aiming to spread the nature awareness among students and other
citizens to nurture and to conserve the biodiversity.
Bird watching
It is a growing activity in the sanctuary as people from far places come and take
accommodation in the sanctuary for bird watching.pre permission is an essential thing that must
be taken well before from the wildlife warden.
4.10 Specialties of the sanctuary
Project Elephant 1991
Wayanad wildlife sanctuary is home to approximately 850 wild Asian elephants. Tourists
can see these free ranging pachyderms in any seasons. The national highway which leads to
mysore from Sulthan Bathery is an exciting path for wildlife enthusiasts as it gives them a
chance to witness the elephant in a hand distance. As it is one of the densest elephant haven in
India ,the union government introduced project elephant here in 1991 to give them superior
status in conservation programme.
Proposed Thirunelly- Brahmagiry Elephant corridor
Migration of animals from one reserve to other through a less used pathway for mating,
food, water shelter etc is a common thing in animal kingdom. A corridor is a the pathway or a
narrow forest bridge that is used by the animals to flee from one forest to other is called as
wildlife corridor. Thirunelly –Brahmagiry is such a one identified by Ministry of environment
and forest in Wayanad. This path is used by the elephants to to travel between Thirunelly, which
31
is a part of sanctuary and Brahmagiry which is in northern forest division of Wayanad. Since the
corridor is zigzagged by roads and private plantaions, elephants’ migration causes unwanted
human animal conflicts and disturbance.
The adventure destination of Wayanad ‘Pakshipatalam’ is very close to this corridor, so
the adventure tourists always come across elephants on their way to the top.It is mandatory not to
carry any plastic items by tourists there ,but not all the time it is obeyed. As the tourists leave
plastic bottles and carry bags it becomes either food or trap or death for animals.
Tributary of Kabani
Kabani, one of the three east flowing rivers in Kerala has got a tributary from wayand
wildlife sanctuary. Originating from the Brahmagiry hills the tributary, it is also called as
Kabani, flows near the main gate of wildlife sanctuary to vanish into the big Kabani in the
bordering areas of Kerala and Karnataka. As it is flowing near the entrance gate and national
highway, tourists spend time in banks of river for enjoying the lush greenery and bamboo forest
free of cost. As there is restriction posed by forest officials to utilize this river bank in any form,
it has become a haven of miscreants. Plastic bottles and food items thrown by tourists can be
seen everywhere on the banks.
Increase in the number of tourists in the name of safaris and nature camps has aggravated
the situation in the form of pollution and overcrowding inside as well as outside of the sanctuary.
NH 212 (Recently renamed as NH 766)
National Highway 212 penetrates through the densest part of the sanctuary to lead the
way to Mysore. A person can’t forget the day if he takes a trip through this area. As the
probability to find a wild animal on this way is very high, the high court of Karnataka prohibited
vehicle movement through this area to end the animal vehicle collision and disturbance to
animals after long cry from wildlife conservationists. The ban is still active between 9 pm and 6
am.
32
4.11. Map of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
Figure; 4.2
33
Two parts Separated by Private Plantations and farm lands.
Two parts of the sanctuary namely Muthanga and Tholpetty ranges are separated by
Private farmlands and tea plantation, which pose a huge headache to the forest department to
manage migration of animals between these two areas.. Human elephant or domestic- wild
animal conflict is a common thing near the sanctuary as the parts of the sanctuary are apart.
Since the population of elephant is so dense here the destruction caused to the crops by the herds
is also an uncontrollable menace. Trench of length 300 km has been constructed around the
sanctuary to restrain elephants from intruding into farmlands, but the occasional rains have
caused the trenches too collapse pave the way for elephants to enter in farm lands.
These private plantations and farmlands pose a big issue in terms of tourism, as the
private owners started construction of resorts and other lodging facilities utilizing the proximity
of the sanctuary. Now in and around the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary there are uncountable
numbers of concrete jungles. Though the construction is done in private land, it aggravates the
human animal conflicts as animals have no distinction between private and public land. Even the
tribal people who resides the inside the sanctuary have been approached by land mafia groups
offering huge amount of money to take possession of the land. In the name resorts and other
construction the sanctuary and nearby reserves lose hectares of land each year.
Museum
It is an excellent attraction outside the sanctuary exhibiting different animal parts and full
mounted animals. Through the process of Taxidermy the skins of different animals eg Tiger,
Bear, Deer, panther etc have been kept here. Another attraction is the full skeleton of a tiger
collected from the forests. Horns and cranium of different animals, the teeth of elephant, leg of a
an elephant which ruled the forest once because of its height are the other interesting artifacts
there. Museum offers many diagrams and pictures to learn about different animal habitats and
behavior especially the tiger. The entry to the museum is free of cost.
34
Growing Tiger population
After wildlife senses 2009, it is declared that the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary is home to
14 tigers. As it shares border with Mudumalai tiger reserve the number is not accurate. Tiger
sighting has started becoming an occasional process compared with the sightings 10 years ago.
Recently first time ever in Kerala a Tiger was trapped in cage planted by forest department in a
private plantation nearby the sanctuary, later tiger was freed in distant range of the sanctuary.
The challenge faced by the forest department is the growing number of tourists and lack
of modern tools capable of facing threats from poachers.
4.12. Impacts
The above said activities and special characters directly and indirectly contribute to the
growth of tourism in the sanctuary. As nature law proclaims there is nothing like free lunch , for
all the benefits that we enjoy from the nature have a cost, which are regarded as the degradation
of forest, pollution of environment, destruction of wildlife habitats and death of wildlife , and
human-wildlife conflicts.
The advantages of wildlife tourism in Wayanad wildlife sanctuary can be listed out as
follows.
Financial support for the conservation programme;
Since a reserved forest is meant for the maintenance and safeguarding of wildlife and it’s
environment, the Govt; incurred huge financial burden in older times to stabilize the up keeping
of particular protected area.The development in tourism and other hospitality sector brought
people out of their usual environment to witness the different man made and nature made
attractions. The spurt in eco tourism activities brought tourists to this kind of protected area to
watch and experience the wildlife on it’s natural environment. The money collected out of
exhibiting the area , helps the Kerala forest department to nurture the environment beautifully
and to own different ultra modern equipments like GPS, cameras, weapons for forest guard to
make the conservation process easy.
35
Employment for the local people
The inflow of tourists to the sanctuary has helped the local people to find out ways to
make lively hood out of the tourism activity. Kerala forest department has aggressively taken
steps to recruit the local people including tribal people for the maintenance of sanctuary. Vana
Samrakshana samiti(VSS) is the official name of the union of this people, and it is an ideal
example of community participation in wildlife tourism.
The tourist taxi vehicles inside the sanctuary are of the local people or are driven by local
people. It also gives them a mean for their life. The small and affordable restaurants and tea
shops near the sanctuary are run either by individuals and woman self help groups.
Negative impacts due to wildlife tourism in Wayanad wildlife sanctuary can drawn as
follows.
Environmental degradation
In a wildlife sanctuary the first thing that comes to one’s mind will the lush green
environment. Unfortunately the restless movement of the vehicles inside the sanctuary has
eroded the green color of the trees along the sides of road. Trees are now covered with full dust
and soot, making the birds and other creatures to nest on that.
Pollution
Large number of vehicles and tourists inside the sanctuary has led to the accumulation of
plastics and other non biodegradable materials. Since no strict direction is given to the tourists
not to take those things inside the problem will aggravate more in future. Consumption of
plastics by wildlife animals would lead to the death of those miserably.
Road accidents
Since the sanctuary is on the sides of NH 212 , animals accidents were already a common
issue there. After tourism in the sanctuary became more intensive, these accidents have increased
many folds due to the nonstop movement of vehicles. Thanks to the verdict of Karnataka high
court banning all vehicle movement through the karnatka side. As the Wayanad wildlife
36
sanctuary shares border with the protected area of Karnataka, this verdict brought the road inside
Wayanad wildlife sanctuary empty between 9 pm and 6 am.
Human animal conflicts
Increase encounters between man and animal inside as well as outside of the sanctuary
have led to serious damages to both animal and humans. Day time travelers to the sanctuary get
opportunities to watch herds of elephants on national highway, this has reduced the fear of
tourists towards elephants, and few come out of the vehicle and pose for photo near the elephant.
Not all the times tourists own that photo instead few lose limbs and hands and even life.
37
CHAPTER -V
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
38
5.1. METHDOLOGY OF THE STUDY
Study has been conducted in the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary of Wayanad district if
Kerala for a duration of one month. Continuous interaction with the tourists, local people and the
officials of the forest department to draw the findings. Questionnaires were distributed among 30
tourists who visited the sanctuary during the study time. Based on the responses of the tourists
data interpretation and analysis were done, which intern led to conclusion.
5.2. SAMPLE SIZE
Sample size of this project is 30; they are the tourists who visited the sanctuary during the
time of study.
5.3. DATA COLLECTION
Since one month is not sufficient to the study the impacts completely the interactions
with the forest department officials and local people were the base the project to find out the
impacts produced by wildlife tourism. Tourists’ responses also helped to find out answers for
few objectives.
39
5.3 ANALYSIS OF DATA
Origin of Tourists
Place of origin Number Percent
Karnataka/Tamilnadu 18 60
Wayanad 2 6.6
Other districts of Kerala 8 26.66
Other 2 6.6
Table; 5.1
Figure; 5.1
The graph shown here represents the origin of the tourists who visited the sanctuary. It is
found that the most number of tourists are from Karnataka and Tamilnadu states. Out of which
the is more from Karnataka than Tamilnadu.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Percent
40
Awareness about Ecotourism
Opinion Number Percent
Yes 20 66.6
No 10 33.33
Table; 5.2
Figure; 5.2
20 of the 30 respondents are aware of what is ecotourism. But still there exist 33.3
percent of the tourists who all even after the activity, are not aware of that.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Yes No
Percent
41
Awareness about Wildlife Tourism
Opinion Number Percent
Yes 16 53.33
No 14 46.66
Table; 5.3
Figure; 5.3
Here half of the tourists after enjoying the wildlife tourism activity are not
informed of the exact definition of the wildlife tourism.53.33 percent of the tourists are
unaware of the concept.
42
44
46
48
50
52
54
Yes No
Percent
42
Kind of Tourism Activity Preferred by Tourists
Tourism Activity Number Percent
Jeep trekking 24 80
Bird watching 0 0
Elephant Safari 0 0
Trekking 6 20
Table; 5.4
Figure; 5.4
From the figure it is seen that the predominant wildlife tourism activity in the sanctuary
is the jeep trekking. 80% of the tourists preferred jeep trekking over other activities.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Jeep trekking Bird watching elephant safari Trekking
Percent
43
Whether tourists are interested to visit sanctuary again in future?
Opinion Number Percent
Yes 13 56.66
No 17 43.33
Table; 5.5
Figure; 5.5
More than 50% of the tourists are not interested to visit the sanctuary again because of
different grounds. For some people reason was over crowd, for some tourists it was
unavailability of animals to see.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Yes No
percent
44
Accommodation
Lodging Number Percent
Nearby Resort 8 26.66
Bathery Town 5 16.66
Forest Dormitory 1 3.33
No Accommodation 16 53.33
Table; 5.6
Figure; 5.6
Out 14 tourists who took accommodation, forest dormitory received only one service. Whereas
the nearby resorts received maximum number of tourists.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Nearby Resort Bathery own Forest Dormitory No Accommodation
Percent
45
Number of days Spent by Tourists in the Sanctuary
No; of days Number Percent
Half a day 24 80
Two day 6 20
Table; 5.7
Figure; 5.7
Out of 30 respondents 80% of the tourists spent only half a day in the sanctuary.ie the
time taken for the jeep trekking and visiting museum. No tourist was found who spent one day
there. 6 people, who spent two days there, were from an educational institution, who spent time
for nature camp.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Half a day Two days
Percent
46
Communication with the guide
Opinion Number Percent
No difficulty 8 26.6
A bit difficulty 6 20
Very difficult 16 53.33
Table; 5.8
Figure; 5.8
Since the majority of the respondents are from outside Kerala, they found difficult to
communicate with the guide. The expressions of the guides were the only mean to understand the
things.53.33% of the tourists found it very difficult to understand the language of the guides,
whereas 26.6% found no difficulty.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
No difficulty a bit difficult Very Difficult
Percent
47
Chapter VI
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
48
6.1. FINDINGS
• Wildlife tourism can be conducted in any ecosystem.
• Wildlife tourism has got a controversial role in ecotourism as the fishing and hunting are
parts of this.
• Wildlife tourism produces benefits to local community in terms of income, employment
and exposure to the outer world.
• Majority of tourists spend less than a day in the sanctuary.
• The majority of the tourists in study area are from outside Kerala.
• The forest guards or VSS volunteer is unequipped to explain the things in English or
other language.
• The most preferred Wildlife tourism activity here is the Jeep Trekking.
• Most of the tourists are unaware of the definition of wildlife tourism and ecotourism even
after the visit.
• The accommodation facility provided by the forest department is not up to the level; also
tourists are unaware of the facility.
6.2. SUGGESTIONS
• Since the primary aim of a protected area is the safeguarding of the biodiversity, tourism
should be given the second preference there.
• There should be a maximum number of tourists allowed inside a protected area.
• Proliferation of resorts near any protected area must be controlled.
• To avoid the disappointment of the tourists the captive elephants can be shown.
• Separate training programme must be organized for guide to improve the communication
skill.
• The elephant safari and bird watching activities seem unknown to the tourists. So
promotion of this two through the media and internet must be intensified.
• Since the number of tourists for jeep trekking is very high, it will disturb the wildlife
continuously. To reduce pollution and disturbance inside the sanctuary battery operated
vehicles can be used.
49
6.3. CONCLUSION
As the wildlife tourism industry grows, so have concerns about threats to wildlife
populations and their habitats. A large body of research now exists to show that a wide range of
negative impacts of wildlife tourism can and do occur. This concern is exacerbated by the desire
of some tourists to see threatened species and to travel to increasingly remote areas. To ensure
sustainability of the wildlife resource, appropriate management and monitoring is required, and
some species and situations may even need to be precluded from tourism altogether. On the other
hand, wildlife tourism can also contribute positively to conservation.
If conservation is to be successful in the long term, it must be promoted both inside and
outside protected areas, and must be integrated with the realities of modern economies and
meeting people’s needs. Governments and major international conservation organizations now
widely support the view that well-managed nature based tourism is one form of land use that can
meet these joint goals. In areas where suitable wildlife exists, development of tourism based on
wildlife watching or hunting can provide economic incentives and revenue for conservation of
natural habitats and wildlife. Further, wildlife tourism in some cases provides revenue that helps
fund conservation and there is evidence that there is potential for an increase in this form of
funding.
Current tourism activities and infrastructure in Wayanad Wildlife sanctuary is impinging
on tiger and elephant corridors, and threatens to irretrievably block crucial links and isolate
critical populations. The rapid growth of tourism both in terms of number of tourists and
infrastructure is unsustainable. It can be safely concluded that in its current form tourism is a
serious threat to the sanctuary.
50
APPENDICES
6.1 QUESTIONNAIRE.
Department of Tourism Studies
Pondicherry University
MBA (Tourism)-Final project;
Topic; Impacts of Wildlife Tourism; A case study of Wayanad wildlife sanctuary
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TOURISTS
1. Name :
2 .Profession:
Government job Private job Student
3. Place of origin:
Wayanad Other district of Kerala
Karnataka/ Tamilnadu Other (Mention)
4. Are you aware of ecotourism now ?
Yes No
51
5 Are you aware of wildlife tourism now?
Yes No
6. Compared with other tourist attractions what special thing do you see here?
Natural beauty Good environment
Less noise All the above
7. How often do you come here?
First time Occasionally
8. Was this sanctuary there in your itinerary?
Yes No
.9. Kind of tourism activity you did here?
Jeep Trekking Elephant safari
Bird watching Trekking / camping
52
10 Would you like to come here again?
Yes No
11 If no, Why?
Could not see any animals Its crowded here
Expensive All the above
12. Where did you take accommodation?
Nearby Resort Sulthan Bathery
Forest department Dormitory No accommodation
13. How many days did you spend here?
Half a day One day
Two days More than two days
14. Did any forest guard/ VSS volunteer accompany you?
Yes No
15. Did you feel any difficulty to understand the words of guide?
No A bit difficult Very difficult
53
16 . Do you think the experience here is matching with the money that you spent?
It is matching Priceless experience
Fee is more here
17 . What do you think about giving an awareness class for all tourists visit here?
Good Not good
Thank You……………
54
6.1 REFERENCE
Books
Ø Wildlife Tourism – By David Newsome, Ross Kingston.
Ø Wildlife Tourism-By Myra l Shackley.
Ø Wildlife tourism: impacts, management and planning_-By Karen Higginbottom.
Ø Conservation and sustainable use- By E J Milner- Gulland.
Ø Indigenous peoples, wildlife & ecotourism: emerging issues and trends‐By
K.T. Suresh, Syed Liyakhat, Saroop Roy.
Ø Mathrubhumi Yatra
Websites
Ø www.forest.kerala.gov.in
Ø www.moef.nic.in
Ø www.dtpcwayanad.com
Ø www.wildlife.org
Ø www. books.google.co.in
Ø www.wikipedia.org
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