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The Wild Life
Observations and Reflections on Africa's
Wildlife
VI - A Dust Devil on the Veldt
To most environmentalists, trophy hunting is wholly unacceptable.
Only “Non-Consumptive Tourism” is acceptable. Photographic safaris, game-viewing drives, balloon rides, river
rafting, bungee jumping and myriad other activities combined with cultural and educational activities provide the new “Eco-tourist”
with “An Unforgettable African Experience”. Of course, the local people must accommodate 10 to 20, or even 50
or more “Eco-tourists” to raise the same amount of money that a single hunting party brings in. And these “Non-Consumptive”
activities require an infrastructure that is wholly inconsistent with sound ecology and incompatible with the wild environment.
Minivans galore (and gas stations and repair shops); supplies and packaged foods by the ton (and warehouses and garbage dumps);
paved roads, disposable cups and teddy-bear-rhinos all come along with the “Eco-tourist”.
The once
formal and sacred cultural exhibitions are repeated ad-nauseum for the influx of tourists until they become little more than
sideshows, devoid of meaning. The younger people, ever impressed with the wealth, toys and behavior of these new visitors,
begin to emulate them. Tourism, carnival rides and show-business gradually replace real-life experiences. Old traditions lose
their meaning and the relationship between the people and the land is broken, replaced by Theme Parks and Minstrel Shows.
The essence of an ancient culture is sucked out of the community as a hot desert wind sucks all moisture from the soil.
Gone is the organic relationship that the people had with the land and the wildlife. Gone is their understanding of
the inter-dependency of mankind and nature. In their place is the idea that the wilderness should be left alone and that they
(like the tourists) should “Take only photographs and leave only footprints”. That is bad enough, but it’s
not what the tourists take that causes the most damage - it’s what they bring. As the hunting, tracking, farming, ranching
and other pastoral skills are lost, that way of life is eventually rejected in favor of newer, more modern, less demanding
and mostly media-driven interests, totally detached from the environment.
Pop-Culture begins to replace Traditional
Culture; and the separation between mankind and the environment, so complete in urban America, begins in rural Africa. _________________________________________________________________ Next Page: Elephant
Bull
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