Understanding Visitor Wildlife Interactions: Kangaroo Island
This survey of 262 visitors to Kangaroo Island from May to June of 2002 explored the attitudes of these wildlife tourists in order to gain an understanding of wildlife tourist opportunities in general. According to survey data, the most important reasons for these visits to Kangaroo island were “a chance to see wildlife I don’t normally see,” and “getting closer to nature.” Moreover, more than three-fourths (78%) cited “seeing wildlife in their natural environment” as one of the three most important aspects of a wildlife encounter.
While visiting the Island, seals, koalas, and kangaroos were the three animals that visitors most wanted to see, while the three most common animals that visitors did see were kangaroos, seals, and wallabies. The most memorable wildlife encounters, however, were with sea lions and seals.
On average, visitors rated their trip to Kangaroo Island as an 8.86 out of 10. Satisfaction with wildlife experiences averaged 8.74 out of 10. Also of interest, nearly three-quarters of the visitors surveyed were able to cite at least one new fact about the most memorable animal they encountered on the trip.