Game reserve - Misplaced Pages

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A game reserve is an area of land set aside for maintenance of wildlife for tourism and/or hunting purposes. Many game reserves are located in Africa. Most are open to the public, and tourists commonly take sightseeing safaris or hunt wild game.

A game reserve is more than just a piece of land or a place to keep wildlife; it is a place where ecosystems are protected and conservation is a key. Indigenous wildlife in its natural habitat makes for an ideal situation as this helps in providing an environment where growth in numbers at a natural rate can occur.

Some game reserves boast 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.

The biggest attraction is the Big Five game (Africa) - rhinoceros, elephant, buffalo, leopard and lion, named so because of the difficulty in hunting them and not their size, which is why the leopard is on the list and the hippopotamus is not.

The Eastern Cape of South Africa is one of the most popular safari destinations in the world today as it enjoys a malaria-free environment along with a vast variety of wildlife. Photo Safari is the term more commonly used for game reserves as it makes a point that no hunting is involved. Although there is a new game reserve opening in the Western Cape of South Africa, near Mossel Bay, Gondwana Game Reserve, which is a first with having free-roaming Big Five game in this area.

Cape Town plays host to an array of smaller game reserves only 2 hours drive from the city. The largest of these is the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, it is larger than all of them put together (120 000 acres) and is also home to the Big 5.

The Kruger National Park remains South Africa's most iconic game reserve and is a national park. It is the largest. The Addo Elephant Park is the second largest game reserve in South Africa and is also a national park.

See also