Game reserve

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.

References

  1. "wildlife preserve". Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged (12th ed.). HarperCollins. 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  2. "preserve". Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  3. "game reserve". MacmillanDictionary.com. Macmillan Publishers Limited. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  4. 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.
  5. Zijlma, Anouk. "Africa for Visitors: The Big Five". About.com. Retrieved 2006-12-29.

See also

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