Game reserve

Savanna at Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania

Lodge at Botlierskop Game reserve in South Africa (2015)

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

See also

• Nature reserve
• Refuge (ecology)
• Wildlife photography