Some wild animals that are in frequent contact with tourists can become habituated to humans. This is much evident with respect to the wild animals around the hotels in thekkady. This habituation is a behavioral response of animals to repeated stimulus resulting in a waning of reaction to certain types of provocations and intrusions. If you visit the Thekkady wildlife sanctuary, you can witness wildlife in all its majesty coexisting with these frequent visitors.
It is observed that eagles in heavily traveled rivers were less likely to look for food from boaters than those without recreational boating, suggesting the habituation of eagles and their accommodation of humans (Knight & Knight, 1983). Likewise, free ranging animals, which are “induced” or given positive rewards (e.g. food) to come into contact with people learn to seek humans.
Animals that seek humans for food can create a difficult situation for tourists. These animals have developed begging traits that can be aggressive and even be dangerous. Human attacks and damage to motor vehicles and campsites by wildlife in search for food have been well documented (Edington, 1986; Knight & Gutzwiller, 1995).
While feeding birds is made to appear to give a lot of fun in wildlife tourism, its effect on the species is quite adverse. It was reported that artificial feeding of wild birds could made them over-weight and malnourished. Unhealthy wild animals that tend to congregate on feeders can spread diseases. Dependence on humans for food also results in the waning of the natural instinct to search for food for themselves and their young ones.
Reports of some bird species that have lost inherent abilities to avoid predators and natural enemies are common. Likewise, there is a high probability of population imbalance of birds in their natural habitats due to forceful displacement of other species by those that are more habituated towards humans (Knight & Gutzwiller, 1995). All these aspects have now caught the attention of the wildlife warders in Thekkady and they have instituted remedial measures.
It is observed that eagles in heavily traveled rivers were less likely to look for food from boaters than those without recreational boating, suggesting the habituation of eagles and their accommodation of humans (Knight & Knight, 1983). Likewise, free ranging animals, which are “induced” or given positive rewards (e.g. food) to come into contact with people learn to seek humans.
Animals that seek humans for food can create a difficult situation for tourists. These animals have developed begging traits that can be aggressive and even be dangerous. Human attacks and damage to motor vehicles and campsites by wildlife in search for food have been well documented (Edington, 1986; Knight & Gutzwiller, 1995).
While feeding birds is made to appear to give a lot of fun in wildlife tourism, its effect on the species is quite adverse. It was reported that artificial feeding of wild birds could made them over-weight and malnourished. Unhealthy wild animals that tend to congregate on feeders can spread diseases. Dependence on humans for food also results in the waning of the natural instinct to search for food for themselves and their young ones.
Reports of some bird species that have lost inherent abilities to avoid predators and natural enemies are common. Likewise, there is a high probability of population imbalance of birds in their natural habitats due to forceful displacement of other species by those that are more habituated towards humans (Knight & Gutzwiller, 1995). All these aspects have now caught the attention of the wildlife warders in Thekkady and they have instituted remedial measures.
