An American leader of youth activities emailed me to say the young
people at her camp were googling about wildlife photography, and came up
with this link.
We want to thank all of the kids in Ms. Martin’s class for sharing this
with us and we hope for great things from them in the future. Thank you for the information and keep up the great work, kids!
I have already shared this on the Wildlife Tourism Australia website, but thought it may also reach some interested persons here.
There are some excellent tips and it also includes links to a number of other very useful sites, some of which link to further sites …
Well worth taking a look if you want to improve your wildlife photography
Wildlife Tourism: A Handbook for Guides, Tour Operators, Job-seekers and Business Start-ups
Most books on wildlife tourism are aimed at researchers and policy-makers. This one is more of a practical guide for those who want to work (or are already working) within the field of wildlife tourism as guides, ecolodge managers, wildlife park staff or other situations where they will be interpreting our wildlife to visitors and also making a living.
Coming more from an academic background than a business one (although I had once run a holiday farm), the business of starting and running a small business took me and my husband into a very steep learning curve. I knew little of the red tape involved, marketing, book-keeping, insurance, or working with booking agents. One of the aims of the book is to help others who may be in the same boat – starting out with loads of enthusiasm for wildlife and for haring their enthusiasm with others, but lacking experience in running a business venture.
Other readers come from the other direction – they’ve been running a tourism or related business but have an interest in including more wildlife experiences, and want to brush up their wildlife skills (bail knowledge and how to find, view and interpret animals), so there are chapters devoted to getting a grasp of the basics and links to further information.
Ronda
For students and job-seekers there are also guidelines on what might appeal to your prospective employers.
Most of the examples are Australian, but there is ample general advice to be applicable anywhere in the world.
A PayPal system will soon be set up for other online and printed copies. Until then, it can be purchased directly by electronic transfer, cheque or credit card: contact me (Ronda) on info@learnaboutwildlife.com if interested. Cost $27.50 plus postage ($5 Australian, $12 Asia-Pacific, $15 elsewhere)
Contents:
1 Introduction
Is this book for you?
The big picture: does wildlife tourism matter for our economy or for conservation?
Not just the facts ma’am (but not ignoring them either): why good interpretation is so important
What this book will do for you
Background experience of author
2. The basics
Skills you will need as a guide
Going a bit further: how to excel as a tour guide
Becoming self-employed as a tour operator or using your skills in other areas
3. Wildlife Skills 1: knowing the wildlife
Getting the ‘big picture’ of wildlife in Australia (or other countries): a good start for avoiding major errors and showing your guests what is different from their own homelands
Identifying wildlife: how to know what you’re looking at (or at least narrowing down the possibilities)
Finding out what species to expect in your district
4. Wildlife Skills 2: finding the wildlife
Knowing when and where to search
When you can’t see the wildlife: tracks, scratches, scats and sounds
5. Wildlife Skills 3: understanding the behaviour and ecology of wildlife
Why should you understand ecology?
Population ecology: why populations of animals of a particular species increase, decrease, stay the same or never enter a particular area.
Community ecology: interactions between species living in the same locality
Further notes on wildlife behaviour
6. Wildlife Skills 4: not disturbing the wildlife
How much disturbance can animals tolerate without changing their behaviour, avoiding you or even disappearing from the region?
How should we approach wildlife?
What happens to the wildlife you never see?
Feeding animals
Other interactions with animals
Wildlife habitat
7. Wider conservation issues
Getting it straight
Some threats to wildlife
Learning about conservation problems while still enjoying a holiday
Licences and permits needed for starting and running a tour business
Public liability – nowadays it’s risky not to have insurance, and there are some things you can’t legally do without it
Copyright (yours and others), slander and related topics
Hiring staff
Indigenous culture
Conservation legislation
14. Final note: Never-endingLearning and Innovation
Learning about wildlife
Nature interpretation and guiding techniques
Wildlife tourism literature
Market trends: keeping up to date with what your potential customers are looking for
Thinking creatively: it’s fun and often productive!
References and further reading
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The book is packed with links to useful websites and other publications on wildlife, environment education, conservation issues, bureaucracy of running a small business, and other essential topics.