Ecotourism can put wild animals at risk

Ecotourism has become increasingly popular in recent years. 【小题1】 There travelers visit natural environments to fund conservation efforts or promote local economies.

Now, scientists have analyzed more than 100 research studies on how ecotourism affects wild animals. They find the presence of humans changes the way animals behave, and those changes may put them at risk. Therefore, they concluded that such trips can be harmful to the animals.

When animals interact in seemingly kind ways with humans, they may let down their guard. 【小题2】. If this transfers to their interactions with predators（捕食者）, they are more likely to be injured or killed.

The presence of humans can also discourage natural predators. It creates a kind of safe place for smaller animals that may make them bolder. For example, in Grand Teton National Park, elk and pronghorns in areas with more tourists are less alert and spend more time eating.

【小题3】 “If animals become accustomed to tourists and if tourism practices enhance this taming, we might create unintended consequences - affecting the behavior or population of a species and influencing the species’ function in its community,” the researchers write.

Ecotourism has effects similar to those of animal domestication and urbanization. Research has shown that domesticated silver foxes become more obedient and less fearful. Fox squirrels and birds that live in urbanized areas are slower to flee from danger. 【小题4】

Scientists hope the new analysis will encourage more research into the interactions between people and wildlife. It is essential to develop further understanding of how various species in various situations respond to human interaction and under what conditions human exposure may place them at risk.

Future history books might record that we were robbed of the use of our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we fail to see anything on the way, Air travel gives you a bird’s eye view of the world ---or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way. When you travel by car or train, you are moving so quickly that you do not see the countryside clearly. Car drivers are forever thinking about going on and on. They never want to stop. Is it the great motorways that attract them, or what? And as for sea travel, it hardly deserves mentioning. It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song: “I joined the navy to see the world, and what did I see? I saw the sea.” You mention the place names in the world like EI Dorado, Kabul and someone is sure to say, “I have been there”, meaning I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else.

When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend (中止) all experience; the present stops being a reality: you might just as well be dead.

The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present. For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. H e experiences, the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical tiredness. Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travelers.

Travel allows us to experience the world. But as we travel, we are also leaving our footprint on every place we visit. This is why culturally immersive (沉浸) travel is so important. Because the wrong kind of travel negatively affects the world. One of the reasons we started this blog was to help others travel better and feel comfortable getting off the beaten path, interacting with locals, and take you “Beyond the traditional Bucketlist”, if you will.

People who only get 2-weeks off per year are often just looking for an easy destination with a beach to relax on. This isn’t travel. This is a vacation. But “Immersive Travel” or “Cultural Travel” is an entirely new type of trip. It is about experiencing and preserving the various traditions around the world. It’s about being open to new experiences and willing to step into another’s shoes. Cultural travel is jumping in with both feet and leaving your idea about what your trip should be behind you. It’s eating local dishes and sleeping in guesthouses. It’s building genuine connections with locals. It’s learning about the history of a country and leaving your trip with a greater understanding of the place you came to see and the people who live there.

Often times in today’s age, “travelers” will visit a country just to snap some photos of the famous sights to post on Instagram or to drink the night away, or even just to relax on a tropical beach. But that kind of vacation can be harmful to the very communities you’re traveling to.

Beyond supporting the local communities and the preservation of local customs and traditions, you’ll also experience some personal benefits through cultural travels. There’s simply no way to travel this way with a closed mind. You’ll get to know different cultures intimately and understand them a lot better. You’ll also become less judgmental of others the more you travel.