SANParks.org Forums

OK, all must please read this in the context it is posted.

Ossendryver, I have a HUGE respect for what you have done and achieved with the Sightings Applications. I am not at all offending your endeavours at all.

BUT:

I have today seen the carnage this can cause on Kruger roads first hand to a sighting reported on the App, from USV's nearly rolling the vehicles, to normal Kruger goers nearly killed by speeding Sightings users toward a pride of Lions. This is not speaking of the 2 dead Monitors, one seen driven over, a few dead birds(Francolin) on the way to the sighting. I do think that any subscriber MUST adhere to a code of conduct, maybe set up in your App. or some kind of rules.

Now this is not at all an affront to you and your work, but a call for some kind of control over the unruly behaviour of App. followers.

I hope this post is seen in the light it is written, and I do hope nobody will rip this apart and see it as an oppertunity to attack the app. But with something going this big, you are going to need some rules. Otherwise, it is going to go sour.

I've never posted anything remotely contentious before and I would never want anyone to think I'm making a personal attack but I wholeheartedly agree with Scipio.
It is inevitable that some people will speed towards these sightings and that animals and birds will be killed or RTA's occur.
I feel that the zoo is the place to go if you want to know for certain where animals are and there will be more lion sightings like this one as a result of these "live" reports.

days456 kruger 2110 147 by jansp, on Flickr

granjan when was this picture taken?

It is a real shame that people speed and kill animals(they should be banned for life and not allowed entry to any Nature Reserve anymore)....but are you sure that this has happened after a "live" sightings report or as result of a report?

No, I'm certain it was taken before this app was started and I did not imply or mean to imply that this was a result of the app.
I do mean to say that I think the app will mean that some people [by no means the majority necessarily] will be tempted to speed and that as a result there will, as Scipio witnessed, be more unnecessary animal and bird fatalities.

Had a similar experience this year in march. Lions were seen on the tar road near skukuzza and after it was posted in the app people went crazy - driving into the bush, shouting and rushing to the point were the lions were - about 200 meters in the bush sleeping !! Not a good sighting, but after 30 minutes nearly 70 cars around. I'm sorry to say but i think people can't handle these informations well, especially those who have one day in the park and rush from one app-sighting to the other. I'm happy to find the animals by myself, watching them alone or with 2 or 3 other guests - kruger is not a zoo at all....just my opinion

Technology has made it possible and very convenient for nature lovers to know within an instant of a sighting, the exact location and to drive to that sighting immediately. It is most probably a very good thing if a person wants to see as much as possible within a short period of time including very rare sightings or for a person who does not want to drive around for a long time wasting petrol and then they do not see what they want to see. I am not sure in which category I fall, because I fully support technology, but I prefer doing slow trips in Kruger free from technology always anticipating a surprise around the next corner and even if I do not see anything in terms of lions, leopards etc for a week I am very happy to go home with the memories of all the sparrows and squirrels that I have seen, thinking perhaps next time we will see …

Maybe the future visits to Kruger will be optimally enhanced by technology and the less effective Kruger visitors (sightings wise) driving around with a paper map, paper notebook and pen and scanning the veldt looking for animals and birds will become less?

This is exactly what I want to avoid. Is the idea not to 'discover' your own sightings? If everyone is informed about good sightings, will it not lead to sardine run scenario with all and sundry chasing like mad dogs to get to the scene? One thing that you will not find with me and my group is a Black Berry, GPS or two way radio.

Anyone who wants technology aided sightings must get a golf cart and go around a frikkin' zoo.

The most advanced technology that should be needed is a car and a camera.

A big part of the thrill is driving with anticipation, and coming spontaneously upon a great sighting.

I have worked with technology for 41 years. Keep it at work or at home.

Fully agreed with the other elderlies
i am from the age without cell phone so dont care for the new tech
Love to explore and be "surprized" about what the bush has to offer.

Imo most visitors using the new gadgets are more about cats then anything else
And its not like a animal ( except lazy lions or leopard resting in a tree) do not move around.

A few years ago i was in a private reserve where the cheetahs wore tracking devices
So very easy to find
Not my cup of tea.

But people grow up with all the new aids and gadgets and some might think different.

Rooies,
I am fully behind you on this one. People don't want to have the "trolly's" like we call them near any sighting, however people are rushing all over Kruger as a result of new technology.

I don't think I will ever adapt to visit Kruger other than driving a certain route and whatever I see is fine with me. My idea of a visit is to actually enjoy nature (sights and sounds) and not only certain sightings.

Grantmissy,
I don't think that technology will ever be able to influence our older generation's outlook on a visit to Kruger. I actually budget to "waste" petrol, because that is how I want to experience Kruger.

100% behind you BB

Best technology for great sightings is HD TV.

And you are not limited to Kruger.

The beer & food are cheaper.

I also think nothing can replace the magical Kruger experience of finding your own sighting because that is what it is all about for some, I think . To be out there using your own observation skills and alertness without having technology guiding you where to go to see lions or other guaranteed sighting.

I don't even look at the sightings board, just rely on Miss Sharifa to find me the great sightings

While we are in the park, never turn the radio on, cell phones off except in camp at night - fun is in finding the animals yourself.

This is an interesting topic. I'm a gadget junkie and as soon as I saw it, I downloaded the sightings app onto my wife's iPad but can't bear to read it.
We've been fortunate to visit many reserves and be driven around by expert guides. After the first day we stopped looking knowing the guide would have seen everything before us. I hate to say it but it became less of an adventure.
The magic of the KNP is all about the discovery. The anticipation. For more than 30 years we travelled the roads and never saw a leopard. Not in a tree not on the ground but we never doubted that they existed nor that one day we would be successful. And this year we were.
For the "once in a lifetime" visitor I believe the technological aids could be invaluable and really enhance the experience but for me - thanks but no thanks...