Fourteen Jeeps consume petrol as they sit close to the sleeping lion cubs. In Botswana’s Chobe National Park, two guides illegally park off-road, trampling the vegetation to give their tourists a better view, and the early air is reeking of gasoline. The cars gradually move away in the direction of other animals or to their lodges, where their passengers, who are probably driven and flown in from South Africa, will eat lunch before getting into a small bush plane.
Building mini-towns in the middle of the savannah and using gas-guzzling private planes may appear incompatible with one of the most prominent trends in the industry: green tourism. However, ethical safaris contribute significantly to conservation by enlarging protected areas, funding environmental studies, and generating revenue for
