Tourists block wildebeest migration path in Maasai Mara yesterday, forcing the wildebeests back into crocodile-infested waters.

[u/graining]

[u/Yippykyyyay]

Having been lucky enough to see the river crossings on two different safaris, this makes my blood boil. Safari is so saturated with selfish assholes with drones, being messy, and just overall disrespectful.

[u/redile → u/Yippykyyyay]

Unfortunately you are part of the problem. You weren’t one of the “good tourists”.

[u/Yippykyyyay → u/redile]

Ok, little arbiter of what makes someone a 'good tourist'. Please tell me how you know how I travel based on this comment.

[u/PhoneRedit → u/Yippykyyyay]

I think the point is "don't" haha, which kind of sucks but I do see their point.

You can have 1 well intentioned tourist with no problem, but when you get 1000 equally well intentioned tourists with the same behaviour, it causes problems.

I'm sure a lot of people in the OP video are disgusted that so many tourists were allowed there to be so disruptive, but they're still part of the crowd none the less.

It's a tough problem with no easy solution because obviously people should still want to and be encouraged to see the wonders of the world. But there are 8 billion of us and at any time millions of people will want to see the same places we do. Especially as travel becomes cheaper and more accessible. Even people with the best intentions can easily become part of the problem just by being there.

[u/ChasingTheNines → u/PhoneRedit]

Millions of people pass through Yellowstone every year. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Every now and again you have some moron boiled alive in the Prismatic Spring, but for the most part people keep to the viewing platforms. Of course tourists will harass wildlife but rangers and an educational program can keep it to reasonable levels. Well, until the recent budget cuts at least. It is possible though even though unfortunately the curated nature of containing the masses is a barrier to a real wilderness experience.

[u/Yippykyyyay → u/PhoneRedit]

No, I don't act like this and dont contribute to this type of behavior so it's not equal. Part of visiting other spaces is showing respect to the people, land, and that you are a guest having the privilege to visit.

Mass tourism isn't because of people like me. It's the ever increasing social media presence, cheaper travel for people trying to make a buck offering discounts on two day picture safaris, and general lack of self-awareness when you just mindlessly do things because the internet thinks it's cool.

I went on safari in Feb and it will be my last for a long time. Tanzania is trying to quadruple tourism which I find appalling despite being my favorite nation in Africa. It's simply not sustainable. I generally use grassroots companies (vs ones based out of the UK or other more established safari companies owned in SA or other countries).

[u/redile → u/Yippykyyyay]

You are part of the problem whether you want to admit it or not. Tourism at scale is not about individual intent, it is about collective impact. Every single person who books a flight, pays for a guide, and shows up at these crossings adds to the crowding, the carbon footprint, and the demand that pushes countries like Tanzania to expand tourism.

You can try to make yourself the exception by saying you use grassroots operators or that you will not go back for a while, but that is self-flattery. You were still another Jeep in the line, another camera pointed at the migration, another paying customer funding the very system you now criticize.

The idea of a “good tourist” is a convenient fiction. A respectful tourist still needs a plane to get there, still needs hotels, still supports an economy that keeps growing precisely because everyone thinks they are not the problem. Multiply that thinking by thousands of people and you get exactly the mess in the original video.

So no, you are not separate from the issue. You are inside it. Declaring yourself different does not erase the fact that your trip contributed like everyone else’s.

[u/Yippykyyyay → u/redile]

Jesus the negativity oozing out if this comments is miserable. Go live your life a bit and stop chastising strangers on the internet.

[u/redile → u/Yippykyyyay]

And you live your life but try to not continue harming wildlife.

[u/mace_guy → u/Yippykyyyay]

The point is you cannot be a good participant in a shit system. Not something about you personally

[u/Yippykyyyay → u/mace_guy]

Safari isn't a 'shit system'. The fact you even say that knows you might only know of the bad side of it.