Game reserve
Savanna at Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania
Lodge at Botlierskop Game reserve in South Africa (2015)
A game reserve (also known as a wildlife preserve)[1] is a large area of land where wild animals live safely[2] or are hunted in a controlled way for sport.[3] If hunting is prohibited, a game reserve may be considered a nature reserve; however, because the focus of a game reserve is specifically the animals (fauna), whereas a nature reserve also if not equally is concerned with all aspects of naturally-occurring life in the area (plants, animals, insects, etc.).
Many game reserves are located in Africa.[4] Most are open to the public, and tourists commonly take sightseeing safaris. Historically, among the most well-known hunting targets were the so-called Big Five game in Africa: rhinoceros, elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard and lion, named so because of the difficulty and danger in hunting them.[5]
In a game reserve, ecosystems are protected and conservation is usually key. Indigenous wildlife in its natural habitat help in providing an environment where growth in numbers at a natural rate can occur.
Some game reserves contain more than one ecosystem, sometimes even five, ranging from valley bushveld, savannah grassland and fynbos to riverine forest and acacia woodland; this provides a dramatic improvement on the types of wildlife that are present and the numerous species of birds that thrive on in these environments[citation needed].
References
^ "Wildlife preserve". Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged (12th ed.). HarperCollins. 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2017..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "preserve". Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
^ "game reserve". MacmillanDictionary.com. Macmillan Publishers Limited. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
^ Pitman, Ross T; Fattebert, Julien; Williams, Samual T; Williams, Kathryn S; Hill, Russell A; Hunter, Luke T B; Slotow, Rob; Balme, Guy A (July 2016). "The Conservation Costs of Game Ranching". Conservation Letters. doi:10.1111/conl.12276.
^ Zijlma, Anouk. "Africa for Visitors: The Big Five". About.com. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
See also
- Nature reserve
- Refuge (ecology)
- Wildlife photography
