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| Issue | South Africa | United States |
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| Park/reserve purpose | Conservation of wildlife, especially charismatic megafauna, for ecotourism. Many private reserves were established for commercial purposes. | Conservation of scenery and landscapes, evolved to include the conservation of wildlife and ecosystems for public benefits. |
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| Conservation of small populations | More likely to reintroduce and conserve small nonviable populations. | Policies and traditions often discourage reintroduction of small nonviable populations. |
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| Apex Predators | Apex predators are reintroduced into reserves as small as 5,000 ha. | Apex predators are only reintroduced to large landscapes. |
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| Management Intervention | Very hands-on management, necessitated in part by the small populations and presence of apex predators. | A more hands-off approach, sometimes directed by agency policies. |
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| Active metapopulation approach | Routine transfer of animals between sites for demographic and genetic augmentation, revenue generation, and other reasons. | Less frequent transfer of animals between sites, especially into existing populations. Generally done only when species is threatened with extirpation. |
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| Boundary fences | Routinely used for natural areas and required by law for some species. | Generally discouraged. Used primarily for bison. |
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| Water management | Trend toward removal of anthropogenic water for purposes of restoring ecosystem integrity and heterogeneity; however, many units retain anthropogenic water for wildlife viewing. | Water management generally avoided unless critical for species restoration, sometimes done for purposes of uniform range utilization and increased carrying capacity. |
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| Partnerships across land ownerships | Commonly used to create and expand natural areas. Typically enforced with a legal document. Management often conferred to a single entity. | Less frequently used, rarely with a legal document, and partners maintain their own management. |
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| Park/reserve expansion | Protected area boundaries regularly expand due in large part to new partnerships. | Boundary changes and expansion much less frequent. |
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| Community involvement and benefits | Natural areas are often established for community benefits or have evolved to emphasize those benefits, including resource utilization by local communities. Parks/reserves actively involve local communities via regular and routine meetings. | Community involvement and benefits are more passive. Generally, public engagement is limited to more formal meetings intended to get public input on specific, proposed management actions or plans. |
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| Ecotourism | Ecotourism and hunting are used to justify, create, and operate many reserves. | Ecotourism often viewed as passive benefit of natural areas, but is not typically a primary objective. |
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| Park funding | National parks get about 20% of operating funds from appropriations, rest from gate receipts, wildlife sales, and other sources. Private reserves funded from ecotourism, wildlife sales, and hunting. | Almost all park funding comes from government appropriations. In the case of reserves managed by nonprofit organizations, from donations. |
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| Visitor experiences | Visitation is highly restricted. Visitors, only able to enter/leave within daylight hours and must stay in vehicles in reserves with dangerous animals unless on ranger-led activities. | Visitors generally allowed to freely travel on foot, via vehicle or horseback. |
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| Outreach and interpretation | Small visitor centers with rudimentary interpretive displays and information. | Larger and more state-of-the-art visitor centers utilizing modern technology. |
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