The Impossible Ethical Bargain Behind African Safaris 

Watching from Tanzania, our local media is not allowed to criticize the government, so this issue is not on the agenda, and most people are unaware, thank you Wendover.

Quick thing I should add. I recently went to the Mara, in Kenya. Right at the boarder of Tanzania/Serengeti. I’ve been told by guides that Tanzania literally makes controlled burns in fields to prevent animals from crossing over during migration times. This delays their migration and thus more animals for them and more tourism. The way that Tanzania and Kenya approach wildlife and just the overall respect seemed night at day.

That's why I love Wendover videos - he does not give you simple answers or force an opinion upon you. Rather, he presents a broad scope of information from different sides, often conflicting with each other, and then lets you work out where you stand on your own. This is top tier content.

Duck populations in Maine were in serious decline - and then a hunting program was instituted. Dollars from hunting permits were allocated to habitat conservation (there are still lots of duck boxes out today), and the population has gone back to more healthy levels. So that's one case where hunting did lead to conservation - though I think the difference was the level of affluence in the country in question: more oversight, high expectations. Corruption happens when there's not enough money to watch the people doing the watching

As an East African citizen, I've never looked at safaris from this perspective. truly eye opening.

I was just on a safari here over Christmas (a much more budget tour than those mentioned in the video but still ~$5000 for 10 days). I spent a long time discussing the ethical question posed by this video with our guides. Obviously, they're biased as they are financially tied to the tourism industry, but they maintained that the tourism is viewed very positively in the country. They mentioned that tourism is the second/third largest sector of their economy depending on year (agriculture #1 and mining #2/3 depending) and the lack of tourism due to COVID showed the population of the country how bad things can get if they lose that sector. Tens of thousands of Tanzanians depend on the direct income from the industry and millions more on the indirect effects like food, local lodging, and fees paid by the incoming tourists. I felt weirdest due to the fact that Tanzania was in a severe drought and was facing food shortages, yet we were provided robust meals, even larger than we would have in the US. I would have much preferred if this wasn't the case, but again, we paid a higher price than the locals would have for that food so the rice farmers, cow herders, etc are getting a higher income than they would otherwise. Still, I'd call this a big net negative and was definitely my least favorite aspect of the trip. Then there is the point the guides made that the National Parks like Serengeti, Terengire, Ngorogoro, etc are one of the largest pieces of national pride for the local population, and ecotourism is the only reason the parks are able to continue. Tanzania has a slogan "The Serengeti shall never die" which relies on the tourists paying park entrance fees. Again, this was highlighted by the lack of tourism during COVID shutdowns. We also spoke with the Serengeti park conservation staff while there, which I specifically requested because I was curious about the conservation status with the increased development (Im an enviro sci major so this is my favorite stuff to discuss). They said that the ecosystem in the park is at the healthiest level its ever been, with poaching and disease at its lowest ever level. Animal populations are at the highest ever recorded level as well. They discussed their future conservation plans with increased post-COVID income, many of which were highly technical and very smart (e.g. chipping the safari trucks to make sure they stay on preapproved routes to limit ecosystem degradation due to heavy traffic). Lastly, the guides mentioned that western tourists coming to Tanzania is one of the only ways they can spread awareness of their country's conditions to more capital heavy countries. People like myself come back to the US and spread the word of the amazing travel but also the infrastructure development needs and over time that can help the country's relationship with the west and provide aid. Would we be discussing their country at all if not for the tourism industry? My trip was very local population facing, meeting with many rural communities and having difficult conversations like these. I think that kind of tour is very positive for the county, while the super-luxury travel and hunting travel might not be. 4-seasons getting the lodging income instead of locals mitigates the benefits of the travel. It is a very difficult ethical question, but I do believe the income and jobs that tourism provides in Tanzania is beneficial and necessary to fund their desperately needed infrastructure efforts like irrigation, road building, electrical grid development, education, etc. that exacerbate some of the largest issues in their country. Without tourists, they lose ~20% of their already low GDP.

I'm Zimbabwean, and I believe, on the whole, Safaris are a net benefit for the local communities and the African country's economies, particularly in revenue generation. When Zimbabwe had its economic collapse, the tourism industry, particularly the safari parks, saw a massive reduction in international visitors who brought much-needed forex. Even though the industry is recovering slowly today, this reduction in International tourists left a devastating economic impact on local communities And their local economy. The failings of the income generated from safari parks and similar style attractions being felt in local communities in African countries is simply due to government mismanagement of funds and inability to direct funds effectively to the development of those local communities. Safari parks are critically necessary for the preservation of our wildlife animals and the generation of income for the local community and the broader economy.

I had the opportunity last summer to rent a safari truck and drive it around all of Botswana in a self-guided tour over 20 days with a couple college friends. It was incredibly eye opening and the biodiversity was jaw dropping. I think at the end of the day there's a really compelling argument that supports safari tourism. In Botswana (which has a democracy with minimal corruption, according to locals), it costs 20 Pula ($1.56 USD) to put a child through school for an entire year. Park fees that we paid were near $100 a day, and many locals we spoke with told us that most of the money we paid went directly into supporting children and keeping the parks funded. Yet, as we were driving through multiple parks in the country, it was clear to me that there was very little oversight or maintenance being done. The roads themselves were rough (we drove hundreds of miles of hardly maintained dirt roads seeing few people) and we almost never saw rangers. While each park had gates, it seemed like it would be easy for people to poach within or just outside of the park boundaries, and just beyond the boundaries we would find herds upon herds of cattle overrunning the natural habitats. I worry that while much of our money may have gone towards preserving these parks, as long as there is demand for poaching and beef it will be challenging to sustain the populations of these rare animals and habitats. Just my thoughts.

I’d love a video on the history of the dog food industry and why our pets meals are the way they are today.

As a normal, somewhat middle class Tanzanian college student, living & studying in the town of Arusha, just 382km (7 hrs) from the great Serengeti, watching this video re-ignites an observation that I've been making ever since I became somewhat fully rounded. Namely, Great wealth being spent by foreign tourists amidst great poverty & suffering. & why the benefits hardly trickle down to the rest of the community 😐🤔🤔🤔

appreciate the more emotionally charged video. the more candid description of the injustices here has a nice blend of documentary and commentary flavor that is more developed than in previous videos

I am so glad to see this video!!!!! I was fortunate to go on Safari twice in 2016/2018 to study and leisure. My professor is from Tanzania so we had an amazing experience. We were able to stay at Safari lodges described here, see the great migration, and see a cheetah hunt a rabbit. That was the first half of the trip. The second half was spent with local scientists doing ecology research. The dichotomy between those visiting and those who work there is night and day. A Safari day was carefully planned and executed by guides/chefs/concierges to Make sure consumers had anything we wanted. They were nice guides and really knowledgeable. as a black woman on her first trip to Africa,I had to talk with them. As soon as we got back to the hunting lodge, drivers/guides are immediately back to work . I was uncomfortable asking someone that reminded me of my dad to do anything for me. Luckily there’s a huge group of scientists that are committed to preserving the natural ecology and are very active. They care and want to see change and reduction in the number of tourists that visit,.. If I ever win the lottery, I will move Tz’s rainforest to open a tropical research center

To get poor countries to engage in conservation, you have to make it profitable for them. Rich countries have the luxury of conservation for conservation's sake. Poor countries do not.

That's a mighty fine trolley you've got there. It'd be a real shame if someone were to tie 1 animal and five animals along separate tracks after a junction.

I’ve noticed a similar trend with Kruger National Park in South Africa. While it was never an affordable destination for the working class, it’s since moved out of affordability for the middle class as well, basically making it an exclusive holiday destination for mostly foreigners

This might just be my favorite logistics/sociology video Wendover has ever produced.

Title mentiones an African safari... "LOOK AT THIS AIR STRIP" I love it.

I actually visited Tanzania last week, went to safari in the Tarangire national park, it’s interesting as as you’re entering you go through a so called highway, which is very similar to a two-lan suburban road, villages which look like they’ve been bombarded where countless people surround your car and try to sell you souvenirs for an extremely cheap price, and then you pay hundreds to enter the safari.

Me and my family lived in Tanzania for 12 years and went on a safari once, and intentionally avoided the Serengeti. The tourists bring loads of money in, even outside of the parks, but there are so many other problems it causes. It's such an interesting problem (or maybe not a problem) that there's nothing much to do. I really hope that the tourism industry can be a positive thing as time goes on. Ninapenda Tanzania.❤🇹🇿

Wow. This video was packed with well-explained and precise information. A fantastic documentary.

It´s also weird how so many television series with episodes in Africa focus only on the "Safari" culture. There are a couple of "european doctor saves savanna animals and falls in love with tourist" movies I think to remember as a german and once I gained a broader understanding of the various cultures on this continent I kept wondering how one could enjoy these, but they have quite an audience.

I do remember reading about the money from hunting not actually going to communities and I've wondered if that is the case. I think it's an insane system either way

The commodification of biological preservation is something happening in Etosha Nat’l Park in Namibia but in a good way. The park auctions off animals that are overpopulated to maintain numbers. Hunting lodges buy them, and if you want to go hunting, you can legally do so in these lodges. Perhaps if maintaining numbers is done correctly, the actual issue might be the distribution of the earnings from trophy hunting properly.

I listened to a podcast about somebody who actually went on a 350000 dollar trophy hunt and he said that the animals that are normally hunted are actually old males who have already breed and won’t do it again and have killed or injured others in the herd

Really interesting video. I like how you explored both sides and critically analysed the merits and arguments for and against trophy hunting and safaris within Tanzania. I am shocked honestly how little of the money, especially in the case of hunting but In both more widely seems to not go towards conservation. Obviously protecting this land is important and tourism can play a role but it would be better if we could see more of the money go to conservation and to ordinary Tanzanians as opposed to Western hotel chains and travel companies. I’ve always wanted to go on safari but would want, when I had the means to do so, support more conservation orientated groups. I imagine part of the issue is the very lack of information since I would suppose at least in the safari case most people would desire that there money is going principally towards conservation but perhaps we all just like the thrill of seeing nature and an interesting story to tell . Anyway I really found the video enjoyable.

Good video Wendover! One thing to also consider in this debate is the impact of safari tourism in less well managed regions. Tanzania is arguably on the better side of things in terms of governance of conservation and the Serengeti, with its internationally recognizable name, is far better run than many (maybe most) other preserves in Africa. Over-tourism without proper regulation is a real problem in some places.

As a Maasai myself I get annoyed when people travel half the world just to tell us how to live our lives😂

Very thought provoking video. As a resident of east Africa I think there are two issues that require further detail. First, tourism does create employment but the impact of displacement of pastoralist indigenous tribes increases their vulnerability which ultimately threatens their way of life - in some cases making it impossible to survive. The integration of a few safari guides does not resolve this issue. Second, spending money inside the country is beneficial when the owners redistribute that money into the local economy. A closer study at the nationalities of lodge owners will show they are predominantly foreign owned with foreign bank accounts inhibiting in-country economic stimulus. Tourism is good for foreigners, wealthy nationals and often monumentally problematic for the indigenous populations.

Unfortunately, this is true of a lot of things that start with good intentions. I was initially going to posit that donating the money others would spend on a safari might help, but I realized we've seen what an exploitative monstrosity the fundraising companies that leech off those have become. Many of these fundraising companies have latched onto the charities they claim to represent and are essentially using the organization they latched onto to justify their cold calls, email spam and mailings that generally eat up most of that donation. And a lot of times the people running those charities are made to feel powerless to do anything about it. And frankly, a charity for an organization in a poor country seeking donations from a rich country is GOING to get exploited in that way. The best approach might be to contact the parks directly and ask how to support their conservation efforts without going to these places.

I went on my first and only Safari in Tanzania after climbing Kilimanjaro, and it was very reasonably priced under $2000 for everything and it was a pretty good experience

Went on Safari in Kenya. Spent lots of money in the local economy. Had a wonderful time

Thank you so much for this video Sam. Especially your explanation about trophy hunting. I think this will allow people to make a more informed opinion about the topic.

I love the start with runaway and planes.. classic Wendover

Hey! I live in Kenya and yup this time of year is crazy with the ultra wealthy coming in. On a positive note not said here, the animals are protected in the reserves and know that they are. When they wander to unprotected areas, they’re quickly poached and killed. In a way, tourism is FORCING the reserves to be, well, reserved for the animals. They know they’re safe there.

"Luxury tent" is a combination of words I didn't expect to see.

As usual from Wendover, a very good examination of the facts. Interesting, informative and thought-provoking. Jerry

Those prices are for 5/6 star hotels. There are lodges ranging from 2-4 star prices as well, that the majority of tourists go to. Its a bit like showing the Swiss alps and only talking about the most luxuriant rooms.

You have an ingenious way of presenting complex topics

I'm literally watching this in Arusha as I am about to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and then go on a safari... LOL

" Heavily modified Land Cruiser" shows land Rover Defender

Brilliantly researched, narrated, edited... Just a masterfully done, informative video. Thank you.

wendover: ‘heavily modified Toyota Land Cruiser’ on screen: Land Rover Defender

Hey @Wendover Productions I think it would be interesting to see the failed logistics of the Bulgarian railway system. I have personally experienced it and think it can make a quite a topic. Also it could correlate to the problems of running a planned economy and other things connected to the USSR.

“Domains are scarce, so here’s how you gobble them up before anyone else can, even if you don’t need them.” So ironic after a video on land and population scarcity.

Awesome of you to mention Dorobo Safaris! My family went on a Northern Circuit tour with them and it was by far one of the best experiences of my life. We did all of the big parks but also spent time on Maasai and Hadza lands. We were able to speak with them and learn how they lived on the land etc. Dorobo is one of the good ones.

Man, despite the ethical quandaries with respect to safaris, this still brings back good memories. Back in 2006, I helped organize a safari trip to Tanzania with a bunch of my fellow students (undergrad and grad students) and one venerable professor (who was born in South Africa and had travelled extensively on the continent) at university in Canada. Students are not normally wealthy, so we did it on the cheap - _including flights,_ we spent ~3,000 CAD per person (around 2,300 USD at the time, if memory serves) for a 16-day adventure (but we only paid 2,500 CAD as we did a ton of fundraising). We rented vehicles in Nairobi, Kenya, and drove down to Lake Victoria (crossing the border), before spending 4 days exploring both the Serengeti and Ngorongoro parks. These parks are INSANE. We saw lions (some came REALLY close to our vehicles), cheetahs, giraffes, elephants, hippos, rhinos, water buffalo, gazelles, zebras, crocodiles, baboons, wildebeest, ostriches...and that's just off the top of my head. It was like the freakin' Lion King out there, and remains an experience I'll never forget. And fortunately, because we were careful with our cash, the money we did spend went to the parks themselves, and to the people running small businesses in, and near them...and not to big developers. It's still not an ethically-neutral thing though, as creating a demand for infrastructure will result in that infrastructure being built, at a cost to the environment...but that's an issue that is common to tourism basically everywhere. The more people who want to see something, the less likely that the attraction can remain in an unspoiled state. We then took a detour up near the Kenyan border to climb the erupting volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai* (which is still the most insane thing I've ever done in my life, and I've climbed more than 10 other erupting volcanoes...this place was so remote that it took driving ~50 km off-road just to get to the base camp, and all three of our vehicles broke down at one point or another, requiring temporary fixes to keep them moving - we actually TOWED one out afterwards). We did the climb in about 5 or 6 hours (this is actually where a lot of our cash was spent, as we had guides and porters, and each got paid like, a month's local wages to work for a single day), and spent the rest of the day, and the night on the volcano (camping just 100 metres from where lava erupts), which was a bit nerve-wracking, given that two *massive* thunderstorms hit during the night (each lasting about an hour), and we were more than 3,000 metres above sea level, almost _in_ the clouds, with lightning hitting the mountain all around us, and booming sounds coming from inside the volcano letting us know that our campsite was very much alive. But we made it out, and back to Arusha. From there, we took a bus overnight to Dar es Salaam (our vehicles were boned at this point, so we took them to a repair shop to get them fixed), where we took a ferry to Zanzibar. We spent 2 nights on the fabled spice island, then it was back to Arusha, limping back to Kenya in barely-functional vehicles, and flying home. Was the trip ethically-problematic? I dunno, maybe. But for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, where most of the money went to actual local people, and not international businesses, I think it was probably less bad than most safari trips. *N.B. We were geology students. We also fit a visit to the TanzaniteOne tanzanite mine in the Merelani Hills, into our trip.

Thank you for getting into the nuts and bolts of this issue, good details

This is a tough one, Africa is expected to preserve nature while the rest of the world got away with destroying it in the name of development. Feels like a case of its okay when we do it but not okay when you do it.

“Heavily modified Land Cruiser” shows Land Rover Defender

might be one of the smartest and impressive thumbnails I've seen. Great design and a great video!

14:30 As shown in the image, this is a minor error. First off its only 11% of people who would have gone, and its just a fact of life that people who go to a place for sightseeing are not going to spend as much as the same person would trophy hunting. Not by a longshot😉

You should do a follow-up video related to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine)

I love how Wendover points out a problem and shows both sides of the story , while being as unbiased as possible. the way you feel about this will ultimately depend on how it financially affects you personally. But great work as always.

Absolutely love your videos mate! Cheers!

I just want to say ‘Thank You!’ for creating an excellent channel!

That was refreshingly balanced in a world full of extremes. Thanks!

7:22 - the weirdest, most striking thing that shows how the West permeates everywhere... that man is wearing a 2000-2001 season Manchester United shirt. An English team in the Premier League, an item of clothing that's two decades old, out there in rural Africa looking brand new.

Very interesting video. Thanks for making it

This was hard to watch, but I'm glad I did. Thanks for an unflinching and balanced look at a complex subject.

Glad your branching out to do more in depth looks at things. Much better then the overly simplistic 'rich guy bad' stuff you normally get on the internet.

I don't think people realise just how well written and paced your videos are ❤️

The Serengeti shares an ecosystem with the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. In Kenya there are three types of conservation areas. National reserves(communities live there and are part of the conservation effort together with the national and local government), national parks (just animals, and managed by the national government) and conservancies(private individuals). The Kenya Wildlife Service(KWS) is the entity that's entrusted with managing parks and reserves throughout the country. Hunting, poaching, killing or maiming a wild animal in Kenya is illegal. So if you're up for more ethical safaris just pop in to 🇰🇪.

this is one of the best videos wendover productions ever made!

0:36 is not a TLC, but a LL Defender. You are welcome)

Me and my family once visited the Serengeti, the experience was amazing.

The only thing I know about African hunting is that there’s a poaching problem, and probably the coolest thing I delivered as an LTL driver, was a zebra pelt. Guy and his son just came back from safari, and the pelt had to be processed, and shipped separately.

As a person from East Africa I have never looked at safaris from this perspective. Thanks.

one big element I think with Tanzania that is so scary is that the UAE owns land right next to serengeti with no regulations on hunting and then they use helicopters to drive animals into said area

Thank you for using your platform for good, Wendover

When the video opens with anything airplane related you know it’s going to be a good one

0:32 In fact this Land Cruiser is SO heavily modified, it looks just like a Land Rover Defender! ;)

Congratulations for the video! Wendover videos are complex one you got to think on

It's the same situation as the US prohibition history, if you ban something, you completely lose control over it. As it happened with banning of alcohol. But if you make it legal, you can control it, something like alcohol has things like legal drinking age. This is the same, making it legal will naturally lower poaching, you can set time limits, putting a price tag on it will allow people to get the enjoyment from it, but you will still limit the number.

I wonder how much of those hunting fees actually go toward conservation, as opposed to some government official's pockets.

Another great youtube video from one of the best creators.

As a Tanzanian this was a well written must watch documentary

A lot of the video you used around the 15:40 - 16:00 minute mark is tranquilizer guns and loading/hauling gps collared elephants around. Not necessarily hunting for sport footage, as you where talking about in that section

My parents stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Disney World for a similar safari experience, but considering how Disney doesn't pay employees living wages in certain parks and considering how the animals are kept in captivity, that version also has ethical conundrums.

Been there. Especially liked Ngorongoro. Slept in a tent.

Like it or not trophy hunting is the single largest contributor of financial aid to to conservation in Africa.

Outstanding video. For some reason I haven't been too engaged in your last few, but this one was a return to form. You never disappoint.

"This feels wrong. But is it?" Yes.

Economic inequality is like height inequality. There are people who are taller than you and shorter than you. You don't cut off tall people's legs just because they are taller. Instead, you give access to books where the short person can stand on to be at par with the tall person. And yeah, if they compete in basketball, the tall person will have the advantage. But if they compete in limbo game the short person have the advantage. But what if they cooperate instead of compete?

I wonder how the situation in Tanzania's parks compares to Yellowstone.

As someone who grew up in Africa and incidentally visited the four seasons lodge in the Serengeti back in the days when everything was a lot cheaper than today I can say that the increased cost of tourism for foreigners is an extremely welcome policy. Since societies don't distribute wealth equally, it's very good that poor countries take as much money from wealthy Westerners (and Asians at this point as well). Problems arise, like with a lot of capitalism, in that owners of the businesses overwhelmingly reap the benefits of this wealth redistribution. The government does get something in the form of visas and park visitation fees, but that amount of money is not a great proportion of all the money made on rich tourists. When it comes to hunting permits (trophy hunting), there are a lot of benefits when it's common species, but even slightly endangered species should be much more protected. Selling permits to hunt rhinos for example should not be permitted. On a general scale the permits should be much more expensive, but it is a fine balance between pushing the hunting underground into the territory of poaching. Still, most tourists don't want to test the boundaries of law, so probably doubling or tripling prices might be completely possible without large losses. The question is ultimately balancing how to make enough profit without creating more biodiversity loss. Either way there are a lot of undercurrents of the after effects of colonialism, dysfunctional capitalism, corruption and of course climate change. In a perfect world we wouldn't be in a place where most of ecological areas would have been endangered by humanity, in a slightly less perfect world colonialism wouldn't have robbed Africa of it's wealth and people. In a further less perfect, but still good world we would have the world take care of inequality globally more broadly, taxing the rich and helping the poor, protecting the environment, both the climate and ecology as a whole. Demand more from your politicians. I recommend visiting Tanzania as a photo tourist., it is beautiful, no, gorgeous country and Serengeti is a gem, a wonder of the world. I yearn to return there from time to time.

Hunters in America already know this. Much of the same factors are in play. Wildlife conservation gets only a mere pittance from the general fund, but fishing and hunting tags go directly to maintaining our parks. Plus there is a huge lack of predators, either from a historical eradication efforts or from being politically unviable (people don't like living next to lots of predators). The overabundance of animals on the lower tiers of the food chain causes a whole range of issues in the ecosystem. Every season, a team of biologists from the local DFG conduct a population survey to allocate an appropriate amount of hunting tags.

I don't understand the mindset of someone who sees a beautiful, powerful, majestic animal and says to themselves, "I want to murder that thing and mount it's skin." It's disgusting. The animal is so much more beautiful alive.

You failed to mention (or at least I missed it) two critical points. 1) the endangered animals people pay to hunt are always animals which are either too old or otherwise unable to reproduce and 2) in much of Africa, villagers now actually protect and take care of wild animals in order to profit from the hunting industry. These are usually private reserves. But in these cases, hunting directly incentivises poor villages to focus their energy and resources directly to conservation. That's a HUGE benefit to conservation.

The algorithm is going to hate this one. :( Great essay again Sam & team.

Great video as always. However I feel you are slightly off the mark on a couple of points. First, in regards to trophy hunting. It is effective not simply because it generates X number of millions of dollars for conservation. It is effective because it gives people who would otherwise be poachers a career that is more lucrative and more moral to them personally. They have incentive to grow and maintain a healthy population of animals to continually hunt that makes them a lot of money each year, rather than a couple big scores with risk of jail time. The money doesn't have to go directly to conservation, because if you are a guide being given $1000 tips every week or two by wealthy foreigners; not only can you provide for your family but you will also be very motivated to preserve your ancestral lands from others who seek to interfere with you ability to make a living. Secondly the debate on weather too much tourism is bad for the parks. I live near Banff national park in Canada. It see's over 4 million visitors a year. Some parts of the park have been heavily commercialized with luxury resorts, ski hills, restaurants and bars. It is packed with people and cars year round. As a local who loves hiking and backpacking it is very annoying that if I want to find a quiet spot in the mountains I have to venture further and further each year. However as a human being it makes me happy that I can share the beauty of my back year with millions of guests each year. Each person on this earth has equal right to enjoy its natural beauty, wherever that location on the planet is. More resorts and roads may seem bad, but remember these parks are massive and most activity doesn't stray too far from the resorts. Thousands of square kilometers of untouched wilderness is still available inside these parks, all of which is able to be maintained for everyone's enjoyment by the $80 dinners and $20 drinks being served at the hotels.

This is probably the best video you've made so far.

The needs of the many vs the needs of the few: a simple question with complex implications and answers

I'm really impressed how this channel matured. This was a very balanced and nuanced video. Very informative. Cheers mate!

I appreciate anyone who online can say nuance is a part of this idea. Thanks!

I'm sure this was a tricky video to make, but it was thoughtfully and tactfully done.

Fascinating. Great vid.

As a boy I was and still am wild about reptiles and bugs. I have had multiple opportunities too travel for these hobbies, I refused as a boy, and I refuse now just the same, for basically all the reasons this video nailed.

I live in Kenya and I think this video misses a lot. Not all safaris come with hunting licenses. The Maasai Mara, which borders the Serengeti, doesn't include hunting permits. Same goes for all the game reserves in Kenya such as Ol Pejeta, Nairobi National Park among others. Lumping all African safaris as one (in the title) is clickbait at best and misleading at worse. So if you want to see the great wildebeest migration but don't want the ethical dilemna of hunting, the Maasai Mara would be happy to have you.

I gotta say, coming down on a herd of elephants in a helicopter armed with a .50 cal seems more like an assassination than a hunting trip.

It's a beautiful thing they got going over there. The humans are thriving as they build their industry. This sad story being told is a youtuber larping as a rescuer. I'm sure he saves all sorts of stuff in his mind.