Wildlife as a tourist attraction in Sabah

Abstract

Wilderness, consisting of wild habitats inhabited by wild creatures, represents the original environment of the human species. Modern man possesses numerous adaptations of his morphology, physiology, behaviour and psychology that originally evolved from these primal surroundings. As a result, we find that unspoilt nature provides an atmosphere in which the human spirit feels free, relaxed and least threatened: an optimal context for the recreation of both body and mind. This is perhaps especially true for those whose everyday lives are furthest from the natural world - the inhabitants of the concrete jungle, whose sensory intake is dominated by the TV and computer screen and the sounds and smells of the internal combustion engine. It is largely to this segment of society that wildlife offers the greatest attraction, as it represents a return to the roots from which they have become alienated by their modern pattern of living. Furthermore, the maximum attraction seems to be mediated via those experiences that provide the maximum interaction with the wild subjects. Thus wildlife photography, fishing or hunting tends to become all-absorbing pastimes for those who indulge in them, over and above the more widely encountered "love for nature".