How to choose wildlife experiences responsibly

Distance: who decides how close you get

The first sign is who sets the distance: the animal or the people. On a well-run safari, the guide stops, switches off the engine and lets the animal decide whether to come closer. There is no chasing, no cutting off a path, no circling a lion so everyone gets a better angle. In Kenya, many of the private conservancies around the Maasai Mara limit how many vehicles can gather at a sighting – one reason game viewing there often feels calmer.

Gorilla treks in Bwindi and chimpanzee walks in Kibale go further: small groups, a set amount of time with the family, and a distance the guides ask you to keep. In the Galápagos, visitors walk marked trails with naturalist guides, and because the animals show so little fear, the responsibility sits with you: even if a sea lion pup shuffles over on its own, you don't touch it.

A good rule of thumb: if an animal changes its behaviour because you're there – lifts its head, freezes, turns away or starts to move off – you are too close. A good guide notices before you do.

Riding, performances and photos with animals

Some decisions are simple. Elephant rides, animal shows, photos holding a tiger cub or with a monkey on your shoulder – these usually mean an animal has been taken out of its natural life and trained to behave in ways it wouldn't. We don't suggest them and wouldn't advise choosing them.

Places calling themselves sanctuaries are harder. In Thailand there are serious ones, where elephants – often rescued from tourism or logging – live with more freedom and visitors watch from a respectful distance. But "sanctuary" isn't a protected word, and some places use it to continue old habits in a gentler-looking form. A growing number of animal-welfare organisations also advise against bathing with elephants or hand-feeding them. The less a programme is arranged around what visitors want, the better it tends to be for the animal.

In Sri Lanka, elephants often appear on their own terms – in Yala, Udawalawe or Minneriya, where you can watch them from a safari vehicle in the wild. An afternoon by a waterhole can be far more memorable than any arranged encounter, though nature, of course, promises nothing.

Feeding and touching

Feeding feels kind, but usually does harm: animals become habituated to people, pushy or aggressive, and in some cases ill from the wrong food. That applies to monkeys at temples, fish on a coral reef and birds at a beach bar alike. The same goes at sea: swimming near a turtle or a dolphin can be wonderful, but only when they choose to be there, not because they've been lured in with food.

The guide makes the biggest difference

The same park with different guides can be two entirely different experiences. A good guide reads behaviour, knows when to wait and when to back off, and can explain what you're seeing: why the mother elephant has put herself between you and her calf, what the calls ringing through the forest mean. With a guide like that you stop chasing the "Big Five" and start to understand how the whole system works, from the termite mound to the predator.

So when choosing a camp, a boat or a park, it's worth asking about the people as well as the rooms: who leads the drives or walks, how many people share a vehicle or group, and whether the guides are local and know the place well.

If an animal changes its behaviour because of you, you are too close.

Where your money goes

Wildlife survives where it's worth more alive and free than otherwise – and that often depends on the people who live alongside it. In Kenya, a number of conservancies operate on land leased from Maasai communities; in Uganda, a share of gorilla permit revenue goes to communities around the park. Choosing camps and services that employ local people and share their income makes you part of that chain.

You don't need to become an expert. It's enough to ask a few questions and listen carefully to the answers:

• Do the animals live in the wild, or are they kept? If kept – why, and how?
• Does the programme include riding, shows, feeding or photos holding an animal?
• How many people and vehicles gather at one animal at a time?
• Who are the guides, and how well do they know this place?
• Do local communities benefit from your visit?

Choosing responsibly doesn't mean experiencing less. Usually it's the opposite: a quiet morning with a guide who hurries nothing stays with you longer than any staged encounter. Tell us which animals and places you dream of seeing, and we'll shape a journey that respects them – and you – together.