| This paper uses a new cultural animal geography lens to explore the role of wildlife In Botswana. It considers the conceptual placement of wildlife, the socio-spatial processes of inclusion and exclusion to which animals are subjected, the ability of animals to transgress placements and boundaries, and interactions between people and wildlife. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with government officials, members of the scientific and international community, and local citizens in three study areas. Findings reveal people's contradictory perceptions of, and interactions with wildlife based on notions of control and respect, and negotiations and adaptations made by people and wildlife to the resulting established conceptual and geographic boundaries. Variation occurred across the different human actor groups and three study sites, revealing ways knowledge of wildlife is constructed and contested and the influence of structural context on particular human-wildlife relationships in spaces where certain rules apply to the inclusion and exclusion of animals. |
