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Ecological and human dimensions of tourism‐related wildlife disturbance: White herons at waitangiroto, New Zealand

Abstract Uncontrolled growth in wildlife‐viewing tourism has the potential to have unacceptable impacts on wildlife populations. The problem is complex because (1) quantifying impacts is technically difficult, and (2) assessing the ‘acceptability’ of such impacts is inherendy subjective. This paper reports the findings of a three‐stage case study of wildlife‐viewing of die white heron (Egretta alba modesta) colony at Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, New Zealand. The first phase involved qualitative interviews with stakeholders to document their concerns about wildlife‐viewing at the colony. Selected concerns were then addressed by direct and video observation of tourist/wildlife interactions on the Waitangiroto waterway. In the third stage, stakeholders were asked to evaluate the acceptability of various hypotherical disturbance scenarios. When the outcomes of the field observations were then revealed, the stakeholders altered and reprioritized their original concerns. The researchers conclude that quantitative data on wildlife population dynamics and behavior are vital, but not alone sufficient, for sound management of wildlife/tourist interactions.