Please take a 60 second poll for Predator Biologist
 

Thanks for helping with this quick 60 second poll, your responses will help me with a project I’m working on. Please post answers to the following:

1)Are you an experienced safari traveler or hoping for your first safari?

2)If a camp/lodge/operator gave you a wildlife checklist would you check off the species you have seen?

3)If the data from your checklist would help future travelers would that encourage you to check a list?

4)If data from your checklist would help monitor and conserve wildlife would that encourage you to check a list?

5)If a lodge/camp/operator gives monthly reports on what they see does that add interest in their operation?

Thanks!!

1 Experienced Safari Traveler
2 no
3 no
4 yes
5 yes

Ok. Will play ......

1.) Regular visitor

2, 3, and 4) No, will not check any list ..... if it's for conservation purposes, will gladly donate any photos i take free of charge to a legal research team. If it's camp or lodge based research - their guiding team should know all of this information much much better than any of their guests, anyways.

5.) IMO - any game report is nothing but marketing material for an organization - be it Wilderness, Kwando or Masai Mara etc etc etc., nothing more, nothing less. It's pure entertainment and just gives me a broad guideline. I like to follow the lives of certain animals that i may have seen ..... in brief, more online reading material. Also, bear in mind - not all sightings for the week or month or gameviewing period gets registered in the reports. It all depends on the guides turning in the sightings to the head office for compilation purposes ......

Hope this helps!

I perfectly echo what Hari said:
1) experienced
2) No
3) No
4) Maybe, but I don't think guests will contribute to this accurately. If it's for science, then professionals are needed to monitor.
5) Not if it's used for propaganda. No guarantee the same animals will be there on my game drive anyway.

PB - here goes

1. Experienced

2. No - Always makes me feel like I am there to tick things off rather than relish whatever it is that I chance upon. Besides, certain species are a real luck of the draw. We saw pangolin at our only stay at Lebala, yet a member of staff who'd worked in the bush for 11 years hasnt seen one, so to me that checklist means little.

3. Possibly but it can be a tad misleading. Echo Hari's sentiment.

4. Yes, provided the information is being collected for a reputed research setup.

5. Yes. Case in point, the gameviewing reports on www.remoteafrica.com.

1 experienced
2 yes
3 yes
4 yes

I'm hoping that by informing the camp operator of my safari experience I will be more suitably matched with other game drive companions. Whatever that means :-)

regards - tom

Pred,

1. Experienced
2. Would depend on the purpose. If invited to take part in an operator's regular wildlife survey (e.g. aerial count), yes. But not for something the guides routinely do on each drive.
3. No.
4. See 2.
5. Yes, but I'd regard it as a rough guide only...like any advertisement is only ever a claim.

okay then

1) experienced
2) no
3) could be done by "my" guide/tracker
4) definately yes
5) yes - especially when one has to estimate to go for certain speciec despite there is no "guarantee" for anything

1. Becoming experienced
2. No
3. No
4. Yessss
5. Yes

Hi Bill

1) I consider myself a experienced safari traveller.

2) no

3) no

4) maybe

5) absolutely

Kind regards

Kaye

1) Experienced
2) Not for commercial purposes - however, I do this anyway in the afternoon while my wife is having her nap.
3) Again, not to halp them inflate their rates
4) Yes, 100%
5) Yes, unless the prose is flowery

Hi Bill,

my answers are:

1. Hoping to get experienced (2 safaris so far)
2. I have done a checklist, just to have at home to relive my experiences... And unfortunately I found out that you do forget some things.. ;-)
3. Yes and No. Yes, if it would be compiled in a sensible manner to give others a better sense of what to expect. No, if it´s done just to get more people in to a certain area.
4. Yes, if it would really help. But I do think that professionals should do the job.
5. Yes, to some extent. It´s always nice to read about what has been seen. But I don´t expect to see all the animals that were reported last week.

regards,
Tom

Hi Bill,

1) Reasonably but not enough
2) No
3) Probably not
4) Yes but I believe it would need to be a detailed report.
5) Yes if it is true

Cheers

Ken

1. experienced - but from many years ago

2. yes, for the h**l of it - my own interests are wide and include flora, reptiles and insects.

3. sure, why not

4. yup

5. not really

1)Experienced

2)No

3)No

4)Yes, but think trackers and guides could do this anyway.

5)Yes

1. Semi-experienced (3 done, 2 more booked)

2. No

3. No

4. Probably not. I'm on vacation, and that info could be obtained just as easily -- and probably more accurately -- from the guide or tracker

5. no answer

1. 3 trips, all Botswana
2. No
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. Yes.

1) I think I am experienced (but not sure)
2) No
3) No
4) Yes
5) Yes, even though I know that it is marketing.

1.Anxiously looking forward to 1st safari in Oct.

2.Maybe, but I have no agenda to sight specific animals, anything I see would be exciting, a warthog or ubiquitous wildebeeste, whatever. (Do not want to witness a "kill" that seems to be high on some lists so my responses may not help you)

3.How would my checklist help other travelers? Sounds like a marketing tool, unless its for my own use as a reminder/souvenier of my trip.

4.If conservation of wildlife were truly the objective every one would be happy to participate. So, evidence would have to be provided.

5.Would probably influence some travelers to choose a particular operation.

1. No. Did Kenya, Tanzania in 2007.
2. Maybe, if I knew the purpose.
3. Yes.
4. Yes.
5. Yes.

1. Moderately Experienced
2. Yes, I find it fun and it sometimes helps when I'm looking at my picutres
3. Yes - I crave this type of information when prioritizing destinations and am sufficiently public spirited to share
4. I'm all for anything that will help conservation, but I would be somewhat concerned about accuracy.
5. Absolutely - and I am interested in all game - not just marquee animals.

1. Have been but not sure what's meant by experienced - I can identify an elephant, if that counts

2. No, I tried that the last time and found after the first day that it took away from the experience. Perhaps if I saw the ever extinct yellow headed knobby knee or something equally amazing, I might.

3. Yes, if paid handsomely

4. Yes

5. Possibly

Sorry for the vague replys, PB.

1. Becoming experienced (1 down, 1 booked, 1 in planning phase).
2. I have been given checklists as part of a "welcome package" but have not used them. So, I guess that's a No.
3. If asked to maintain a checklist, I would be happy to oblige. But I think the guide could do this more reliably than a guest and there would be no need for more than one checklist per vehicle.
4. Same answer as for 3.
5. Yes. I enjoy reading this type of subject matter. And it can help to build anticipation for an upcoming trip (as if I need any more anticipation!).

rickmck

Thanks everyone for your answers, this is very helpful for me!

For experienced vs. first timer it's just that simple, I'm interested in the different view of someone who has been on safari and thus is familiar with the actual experience and the view of someone dreaming about it but hasn't been yet. Obviously there are huge degrees of experience but I won't try to wade through that here as I truly wanted to make it a short favor from each of you.

I could elaborate more on each question but I do not want to taint the answers. Thanks to those who have participated and I hope everyone who opens this will take a minute and add responses. After the data piles up I will illuminate more about this project.

Hello PB.

1. Only at the researching stage for the first safari
2. Yes. I would want to keep a list anyway for my own reference later.
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. Yes

Anything that adds information to help make informed choices is good by me.
From trip reports from all the people on this forum I know I need to go to Chobe NP to see the most elephants (my priority!).

1 - June, 2008 trip will be the first safari.

2 - Yes, I would take advantage of having a list, especially if it was a list of not only mammals, but also birds & reptiles which we might have the good fortune to observe.

3 - Yes, but not for the camp's commercial purposes.

4 - Yes, definitely.

5 - Probably.

1. new - waiting until October 2008.
2. yes, because I'd probably do this myself as a memento of the trip and would love to know what is possible to see / species etc. because I may not digest it all on the drives.
3. yes
4. yes
5. yes - I check the Mala Mala listings about once a week in anticipation.

1) I’m going to Kenya for the 5th time in June.

2) Not if I was just handed the checklist, but yes if I was asked to for any reason. I wouldn’t check off the list for my own use as I remember what species I see and “having to” photograph already takes too much of the experience.

3) Yes, but it would encourage me more to be useful to the camp and when they’d raise their fees so that I would be unable to return, I’d regret being helpful.

4) Definitely.

5) Yes.

1)experienced safari traveler
2)maybe/sometimes (often make my own list)
3) yes
4) yes
5) yes

1. one safari experience--there will be more

2. no

3. no

4. yes

5. yes, if reports are not just lists of animals but give some supporting information, that is illuminating, e.g. "cheetahs were seen for the first time in six month."

1. Experienced (once in Southern Africa, once in Tanzania)
2. Probably yes
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. Yes

1) Yes, been on six safaris

2) Yes (there's a very nice one available at Kgalagadi, and I used it during my visit)

3) Yes

4) Yes, definitely

5) Yes, it would certainly help in the decision-making process

My two cents..

1. Experienced (2)

2. Yes. It was helpful after I got home as reference for my trip report and in identifying our photographs.

3. No

4. A cautious yes. I don’t want to have to always know exactly where I am and what time of day it is. I’m not a professional; I’m on holiday and just want to go with the flow.

5. Maybe yes, maybe no. It’s marketing. Wildlife is so fluid and transient. All any bush report can really give is a sense of the possibilities.

Best wishes,
-doo

Haven't read any of the other responses so am probably repeating:

1)Are you an experienced safari traveler or hoping for your first safari?

Reasonably experienced though not as much as some here.

2)If a camp/lodge/operator gave you a wildlife checklist would you check off the species you have seen?

Not to mark off everything seen but have used such lists in the past to mark down any unusual sightings so can remember what the species were if stuck when IDing my photos.

3)If the data from your checklist would help future travelers would that encourage you to check a list?

Possibly.

4)If data from your checklist would help monitor and conserve wildlife would that encourage you to check a list?

Yes, if I was told that this was the case (and understood how), I'd be happy to do this though possibly not to the extent of recording exact numbers of all species seen. It'd be too tedious and time-consuming to constantly be adding numbers for the commonly sighted species and I'd rather spend that time simply looking, enjoying and, sometimes, photographing.

5)If a lodge/camp/operator gives monthly reports on what they see does that add interest in their operation?

To an extent, in terms of giving an idea of what species are and are not sighted in their area. However, as they seldom give ideas of how frequent these sightings are let alone a (subjective) qualitative rating of the sighting, I would not base my choice of camp solely on such information.

PB,

1. So far I've done one safari with the idea of more to come.

2. Maybe, I wouldn't do it at the expense of enjoying the sightings. I did on my safari but probably missed recording some birds because the checklist was not the priority.

3. Probably not.

4. Yes

5. Yes, but I think that as far as game expectations go, people need to understand that there are no guarantees - that's what zoos are for. The best you can hope for is to know what type of animals are usually seen in the area and have rough ideas about frequency at different times of the year.

Hope that helps,

Bob

1) Regular visitor

2) Yes

3) No - cfr. Hari's response

4) No - cfr. Hari's response

5) No - cfr. Hari's response - if I want to know something specifically I'll check it out with the people on the field.

1. Experienced (7)

2. No.

3. No.

4. Maybe - I'd need to know more about the conservation project.

5. It's interesting, but it doesn't mean that I'll see the same things if I go there!

Hi there.
I don't mind answering this.

1. First time safari in Oct 08

2. Yes if I knew the purpose of the checklist.

3. Probably, depends what you mean by 'help'.

4. Yes, if it really did help conserve wildlife and not give info on what animals could be hunted!

5. Not really. I imagine each month can differ from year to year.

1. Experienced
2. Yes, but only do it during the down time-mainly to remember the birds names
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. No, doesn't mean I'll see them when I get there

1) Experienced
2) Haven't been given, but when provided, on my 2nd safari I was in awe of birds which had never before been of interest; for my own purposes I ticked off those we had seen. The list is somewhere in that year's photo album. Haven't done so since.
3) No
4) Maybe, though believe guides and trackers should do this.
5) Absolutely not.