Mauritius
Birdwatching
In Mauritius you can find creatures that do not exist anywhere else in the world.
The endemic pink pigeon population had been reduced to only 15-20 specimens, but after more than 20 years of conservation efforts, its number has increased to 250. The island is also home to the world's rarest kestrel, the Mauritius kestrel, which has managed to recover from about four specimens to about 350 today.
A great place for bird watching is the Black River Gorges National Park, where obviously it is important to avoid disturbing the animals and this fragile environment.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s64
Swimming with wild dolphins
Several hotels, tour operators and resorts offer excursions for swimming with dolphins and whales all along the coast. This type of interactions can be stressful for animals and local biologists have repeatedly reported that tourist boats disturb and annoy cetacean family groups. The Government has informed that it is acting to restrict this practice and tourists can express their disapproval by not booking from the operators that offer this type of activity.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s65
Walking with lions
In this country as well, tourists can pay to walk with lion cubs. These interactions are offered to tourists as a unique and stimulating opportunity to learn about lions and spend time with their cubs in their natural habitat.
However, these lions are bred in captivity, they will never be able to live in the wild again and this type of activities do not favour conservation in any way. In fact, many of these lions will be sold for canned hunting as soon as they reach adulthood and all tourists who do not want to encourage this activity should not pay for such “walks” with lion cubs.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s97
Threats to the marine ecosystem
Rising sea temperatures and the increase in human presence, especially due to the flourishing tourism industry, is threatening the coral ecosystem of Mauritius. Coastal development means a greater potential for direct damage to coral areas and the pollution resulting from these activities is causing dead zones and coral discoloration. Tourists can minimize the damage by choosing a “low impact” hotel, responsible diving companies and denouncing the sale of corals as tourist souvenirs.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s91
Stray animals
Mauritius has a large number of stray animals, which often live in very poor conditions. The stray cat and dog populations are controlled through unregulated mass culling which implies cruel slaughter methods. It is estimated that every year 20,000 dogs are exterminated in the island. In 2009, actress Brigitte Bardot offered to pay for the sterilization of all the animals on the island – something that would have eradicated the problem of overpopulation – but the government refused her offer. If you find these animals, you can help them by giving them some food or water, but avoiding close contact with them in order to avoid contagious illnesses. Before traveling you can find the contacts of local animal protection NGOs to inform them in case you find very ill animals or victims of animal abuse, or in case you want to make a donation.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s95-perros-y-gatos-callejeros
Interactions with lions and cheetahs
Some centers on the island offer tourists taking photos or walking with cheetahs and lions. Being wild animals, they are forced to interact with people, and may be drugged. These interactions can also be very dangerous to people. In order to use animals in such activities, it is necessary to take them away from their mothers at a very early age (so that they "imprint" on people instead of members of their species) and constant handling and contact with humans can be extremely stressful to them. The fate of these animals once they have grown and reached their maximum strength is also uncertain.
For more information about photos with wild animals: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s15
Here is a list of local NGOs that can be contacted in case you want to make a donation, a complaint or find an animal that needs help in Mauritius:
PAWS, Protection of animals welfare society
