| Wilderness | |
| Type: | ecotourism operator |
| Traded As: | WIL (BSE)[1] [2] |
| Industry: | Tourism, Conservation |
| Predecessors: | --> |
| Successors: | --> |
| Foundation: | 1983 |
| Founders: | Colin Bell, Chris McIntyre |
| Location City: | Gaborone |
| Location Country: | Botswana |
| Owners: | --> |
Wilderness is an ecotourism operator, headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. It operates camps and mobile safaris across seven countries: Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.[3] [4] Known for its ongoing conservation work, the company is helping to conserve some 33 species on the IUCN Red List[5] and lists some 2.5 million hectares as being under protection.
As a destination management company, Wilderness Safaris has its own bush air charter company, Wilderness Air, as well as touring arms in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe/Zambia and Wilderness Safaris Private Journeys in Cape Town, South Africa.
Through the Wilderness Wildlife Trust, Wilderness Safaris funds more than 20 conservation, community and anti-poaching projects every year, and it is also a primary sponsor of Children in the Wilderness, a non-profit organisation that facilitates sustainable conservation through leadership development and education of rural children in Africa.[6]
Wilderness was founded in Botswana in 1983 by two overland safari guides – Colin Bell and Chris McIntyre. It was the first tour operator of its kind to form a registered company in Botswana, with operations based out of Maun, south of the Okavango Delta.