Wild Planet Adventures Travelers Lavish “Hand’s On” Love To Rescued Animals In Costa Rica, Celebrate Camels & Color In India, And Save On Islands In Thailand

The wildlife viewing expert, Wild Planet Adventures, continuously creates new wildlife eco-tours and safaris with opportunities to interact unobtrusively with weird and wonderful wildlife. For winter 2014 and beyond, the company unfurls three innovations for exploring the animal kingdoms of Costa Rica, Thailand and India.

In Costa Rica guests explore up to 8 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries with hands-on features that include tending to and cuddling rescued animals at a National Geographic-recognized rescue center.  In Thailand, Wild Planet has added the brilliant white-sand beaches, incredible snorkeling and limestone karst of Ko Phi Phi Island as an alternative to remote Ko Tarutau Archipelago, and at big savings ($600).  In India guests may opt for a new version of the award-winning Leopards, Tigers & Palaces Ultimate Wildlife Safari, with special Festival departures scheduled to include the famous Pushkar Camel Fair and the joyful Holi Festival of Color.

Costa Rica
Hands-on wildlife interaction meets naturalist-led wildlife viewing on the award-winning 9- and 14-day Costa Rica Ultimate Wildlife Eco-Tour. A nearly four-hour, hands-on wildlife experience at Proyecto Asis Wildlife Rescue Center is a new addition to this tour and an experience recently featured in National Geographic.

“This new segment is getting rave reviews from our travelers who get to cuddle, feed and care for parrots, kinkajou, toucans, coaitimundi, macaws and other exotic tropical wildlife,” reports Josh Cohen, founder/owner. This is a natural compliment to an itinerary specializing in up-close wildlife viewing in eight remote national parks (six parks on a nine-day tour) plus whitewater rafting, cloud forest canopy tour, volcano, hot-spring, beaches on both coasts, sea-kayaking with dolphins, snorkeling at night in the bioluminescence, a scarlet macaw migration and a world-famous sloth sanctuary.

Thailand
Guests may now opt to save $600 person on 11- and 14-day a Hidden Thailand Rainforests & Islands eco-tourby choosing one of two exemplary island destinations; either Ko Tarutau archipelago for the most remote, off-the-beaten-path experience possible (with the best snorkeling!) or the breathtaking limestone karst and famous mottled turquoise water of the more popular Ko Phi Phi at a big $600/person savings. Both offer the experience of being on gorgeous romantic island beaches.

Says Cohen: “This is the Thailand you've always imagined: truly hidden remote places with thrilling adventure, unparalleled wildlife, exotic culture, brilliant white sand beaches and turquoise water. If you're the type of traveler that appreciates finding hidden gems, you'll love this rare experience of a country known for its sensual food, joyful people, exotic wildlife and south-sea islands.”

The Hidden Thailand adventure includes authentic wildlife safaris in three national parks not offered by any other tour operator; visits to a lakeside wildlife sanctuary, cloud forest and elephant camp; cultural experiences, Buddhist temples, night markets and Chiang Mai; and snorkeling at Ko Tarutau or saving $600 by relaxing on the world-class beaches of Ko Phi Phi.

India
India Ultimate Wildlife Safari: Leopards, Tigers & Palaces for 13 or 19 days already has won more awards than any other Wild Planet Adventures trip as the most comprehensive multi-safari available in India. Now the option to attend festivals adds to the sizzle.

During India’s Pushkar Camel Fair in November, thousands of colorfully dressed camel traders, musicians, acrobats, folk dancers, comedians, sadhus (wandering holy men) and tourists turn the small town of Pushkar into a cultural phenomenon. The Holi Festival in February and March is the famous Hindu festival of colors celebrating the universal triumph of good over evil. Young and old yield to exuberance, throwing colored powdered dye and colored water on each other and rubbing the colors on their faces to celebrate the joyful power of enthusiasm.

It includes a multitude of safaris to see tigers, leopards, rhinos and rare wildlife, by jeep, elephant-back, camel and rickshaw. Also included are cultural segments in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Delhi and Agra, including the Taj Mahal, and a total of four UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

About Wild Planet Adventures
The expert wildlife guides of Wild Planet Adventureshttp://www.wildplanetadventures.com/ go the extra mile to explore remote wildlife habitat and study wildlife patterns in destinations not often accessible to the general public. Thanks to the company’s comprehensive itineraries that balance diverse and complex ecosystems and habitats, guests enjoy wildlife and game viewing that is carefully aligned with animals’ seasonal, daily and nocturnal migrations.

Following a philosophy that interacting with nature has the power to transform lives, tours are conducted in Africa, Baja, Belize, Borneo, Brazil, Costa Rica, Galapagos, India, Laos, Nepal, Panama, Peru, Thailand and Zambia. Wild Planet Adventures is recognized by top publications in the travel industry for its itineraries that combine intimate encounters with wildlife and local culture.

For a more information and a complimentary 2014 catalog call toll-free 1.800.990.4376, or e-mail: trips@wildplanetadventures.com. To review current trips, schedules and itineraries log onto: http://www.wildplanetadventures.com/.

Five Tips to Identify Eco-Tourist Attractions That May be Greenwashing

WSPA uses the Cayman Turtle Farm as a case of a losing proposition for animals, conservation 

In recent years, eco-tourism has become a hot buzzword for environmentally minded travelers, but the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) advises tourists to research visitor attractions to ensure they are operating responsibly, keeping in mind the welfare of animals and the environment, and avoid those that are simply greenwashing.

Using the Cayman Turtle Farm as an example, Elizabeth Hogan, oceans and wildlife campaigns manager at WSPA, put together a list of five tips that can help tourists identify when an eco-tourist attraction is not as animal- or environmentally friendly as it claims. The turtle farm is a popular tourist destination in the Cayman Islands that alleges to focus on the conservation and the protection of endangered sea turtles, but also sells them for food and has a poor track record on animal protection issues.

1)      Avoid direct interaction with the animals.

As a general rule, you shouldn’t be touching animals at an eco-tourist attraction. Whether it’s swimming with dolphins or holding sea turtles, this kind of contact with hundreds or thousands of tourists can traumatize the very animals being protected and compromise their health, sometimes in serious ways. Be wary of any eco-tourist attraction that encourages or allows this kind of contact and know it may also pose a health risk for you personally. For example, at the Cayman Turtle Farm, tourists are encouraged to handle the sea turtles, putting themselves at risk of contracting E.coli and salmonella. 

2)      If there is a high entertainment to science ratio, stay away.

Eco-tourist attractions must balance science and entertainment. Unfortunately, some lean too heavily on the latter. If the eco-tourist attraction you’re considering has too much entertainment, such as snorkelling with sea turtles in small artificial ponds as the case at the Cayman Turtle Farm, it may not be paying enough attention to welfare of the animals it’s supposedly protecting and the science of conservation. 

3)      Don’t eat any of the animals supposedly being protected.

Done properly, there’s nothing wrong with farming. But it’s a very different thing than conservation. Any eco-tourist attraction that tries to balance conservation of a species with selling it for meat is caught in a conflict of interest. At the Cayman Turtle Farm, it claims to be helping endangered sea turtles while simultaneously selling sea turtle meat to local restaurants.

4)      Look for what trusted third parties have to say.

Before you visit an attraction, spend a few minutes on the Internet to see what trusted third-party groups have to say.  In the case of the Cayman Turtle Farm, WSPA as well as other animal and conservation groups have expressed concerns about its policies and practices which are online and come up in any search on the farm.

5)      Ask you travel agent, cruise line and hotel concierge lots of questions.

With the four points above in mind, come armed with questions for anyone recommending you visit an eco-tourist attraction. Ask members of the travel industry to investigate the attractions they are promoting and provide proof that the property is operating with animal’s and the environment’s interest at its core. If they can’t answer all of your concerns, look for other animal- and eco-friendly options.  In the case of the Cayman Turtle Farm, WSPA and other groups have met with and encouraged cruise lines visiting the Cayman Islands to stop directing tourists to the farm because of its poor track record with animal welfare issues. 

WSPA says keeping these five simple tips in mind will help environmentally minded travelers avoid eco-tourist attractions that fail to meet industry standards.

“Ultimately people want to do the right thing and eco-tourism sounds good, it feels good, and people like the idea that they are helping make the world a better place while they are on vacation,” added Hogan. “But it’s not that simple. Luckily if you know what to look for it’s fairly easy to spot problem places even if no one tells you.”

To learn more about WSPA’s campaign to end sea turtle cruelty at the Cayman Turtle Farm, visit http://www.StopSeaTurtleFarm.org.

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About WSPAAt the World Society for the Protection of Animals, we have worked to expose animal cruelty and prevent animal suffering for more than 30 years. Working with individuals, organizations and governments across the globe, our campaigns range from putting animals at the heart of farming to protecting animals in disasters. Consultative status with the United Nations means we have a unique international platform to prove that the lives of animals are inextricably linked to our own, and now more than ever is the time to stop their suffering.

For more information, visit http://www.wspa-usa.org.