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Bill, you contribute with so much information to the forum that your questions deserve to be answered.
1-Hoping for my SEVENTH safari? 2-No , but my children do when they come with me (2 safaris) 3-No. 4-Possibly no. During my 8 days of safari a year I am too egoistic and also addict to the camera wich makes me already lose too many things , so having to fill up a list is not for me. Once I return home and during the rest of the year it would not matter to me to contribute with any data obtained from my pictures or videos. 5-No but i have to admit that I check them just for fun . I learned with the passage of the years that camp reports serve to create false expectations that become deceptions most of the times. Paco. |
(1) Somewhat Experienced -- been to Africa 3 times.
(2)We do this on our own anyway for our own purposes. I would want to keep the list I checked off instead of returning a form to the camp, but otherwise yes. (3) Not really, but I do it anyway. (4) Yes. (5) Absolutely. I love reading those things. Good luck with your project. Chris |
1) Experienced by your definition.
2) I've never used a checklist. 3) Maybe, depends on what you mean by help. 4) Yes 5) To a limited extent, yes. |
Interesting series of questions, PB. And very keen to hear more of what these questions are about.
1) Experienced 2) No 3) No 4) Yes, if I knew it would really benefit wildlife conservation. 5) I would have to say it depends on the lodge/camp/operator and how they would use the info in their reports. |
1) I suppose so ? - 10 trips including several in Africa
2) No. 3) Possibly as could be helpful to others (bear in mind I am a bit particular) 4) Yes if outcome shared 5) Yes as this would help shape a trip for me especially for rarer species |
1. experienced
2. no 3. maybe 4. yes 5. big yes! |
1. First Timer
2. Yes, I've made my own from several sources. 3. Yes 4. Yes 5. Yes and No. Monthly seems too infrequent to be useful. Weekly seems more useful to me. |
1)First trip to Africa in June 2008; lots of nature travel elsewhere.
2)Would use the checklist for fun, to determine what we might see, and to create tall tales about what that black blob in the distance must have been. The checklists are interesting to me mostly for the animals I haven't heard of or don't know much about -- to narrow down what that furry little creature might have been. 3)Yeah, but my checkmarks are unlikely to be reliable. See comment number two about identifying black blobs in the distance. 4)I would hope someone with a better eye than mine would be collecting such data! Although I can tell a hippo from an elephant, I'm not sure I can tell a mongoose from a meerkat. And is a smelly old polecat the same thing as a skunk? 5)Yes!! I've been obsessively reading the ranger sighting reports at the lodges and camps I'm interested in. If I knew that the data was based on guest checklists, I wouldn't pay much attention to it, frankly. Especially at the places with free booze! |
1) Experienced - 7 countries
2) No 3) No 4) Yes 5) No I go on safari because I love the peace and beauty of the African landscape and also because I am a huge animal lover. If I see a lot of wildlife, so much the better, but I certainly don't count how many animals I see, or care how many other people have seen, unless it is for conservation purposes. |
1.) 2nd safari starts next week (!!!!!!)
However, I'm the type that reads field guides at bedtime, and I have some field biology experience (meaning I'm generally pretty good at identifying species). 2.) No, although I do like lists. The reason I said 'no' is because a camp provided a bird list to me once, and I was too busy watching them to immediately check them off, and later forgot exactly which birds I'd seen due to the large number of species. 3.) Yeah, sure, why not. 4.) Yes 5.) Yes--however, as others have said, weekly is more interesting. As with most data that is collected, information from checklists could be used for good as well as not-so-good (i.e., shameless self-promotion). I often wonder if quasi-scientific data collection is occurring at camps and lodges. For example, check this out: Big 5 Hotspots in the Kruger: http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger...ts/default.php |
1) Experienced (8; 9th in Sept)
2) No - I keep my own journal, but it's not just a list of what I saw. 3) No 4) Possibly - I shoot stills and video, so I don't know how I'd manage the list, as well. 5) Yes - MalaMala has done this and it was helpful, but I think the info comes from the rangers, not the guests. |
1. Experienced
2. No - I do not like to see people and guides being pressured to record large numbers of sightings 3. Yes, if it will help people plan better safaris instead of blindly following glossy brochures placing them in the wrong lodges for the time of year. No, if it is used by lodges to exaggerate their sightings to attract bookings 4. No - I will not trust any data from the average tourist - how can they tell whether they saw a different elephant/secretary bird each day or the same ones? 5. It is fine but the need to market the lodge/camp will override the truth. And they will only highlight the few good days, and conveniently ignore the many days with poor sightings! |
1. three trips to East Africa
2. Yes, great fun in our vehicle, family only. Points off for false calls! 3. Yes 4. Yes 5. Yes |
1. Not experienced, but not a first timer. About 8 weeks in the bush so far.
2. I have used a checklist in the past. Not while on a game drive, but marking things off when I got back to camp. I’ve used it mostly for birds. My handwriting is so atrocious that I don’t usually take notes or write in a journal. Sometimes I also check birds off in my bird book, but again only when back at camp. But I won’t keep track of numbers seen, just the species. 3. Yes, but again not while on game drives, only when back in camp during siesta time since I don’t nap. 4. Absolutely. However, IMO if wildlife conservation is being left up to tourists’ checklists, then the camps are not doing their jobs. 5. Yes, I think it adds interest. I like to read sighting reports when planning a trip, or even when just dreaming about one. But it doesn’t affect my decision on whether to stay at the camp or not. However, if I’ve already decided on a particular camp it might help me decide when to go. To me this question is like asking if photos on a website influence your decision to stay there or not. Maybe the photos of the accommodations influence people’s decisions. Of course the wildlife photos are of interest. But, do the wildlife photos themselves influence my decision? Never, because I don’t believe there is any connection between a glitzy web site and quality game drives. I'm looking forward to hearing what this is all about and what you're up to Bill. |
1. 2 safaris
2. yes 3. no 4. yes 5. yes |
<font color="#5f9ea0"> <i>1) Are you an experienced safari traveler? </i> </font>
No. So far only 1 trip to the continent that included 3 safaris with 3 different companies. Like Isabel, lots of nature safaris elsewhere. <font color="#5f9ea0"> <i> 1a) or hoping for your first safari? </i> </font> <i>I have hopes</i> to lure many people to the continent to share some of my interests with them via <i>their first safari. </i> <font color="#5f9ea0"> <i> 2) If a camp/lodge/operator gave you a wildlife checklist would you check off the species you have seen? </i> </font> Any given day… Yes. No. Maybe. On this particular topic that you raised, anticipating the needs and takeaway wants of several friends that I have already enticed to EA; I have had to supplement by creating various *back pocket* animal & plant checklists on cardstock for their different safaris and treks up Kili and Meru. If I were a camp/lodge/operator or guide: a) At least I would offer a clipboard with a wildlife checklist for an easy way for clients to engage if that is to their liking. b) Even if the clients were very knowledgeable and actively keeping details, they would leave with a list of the wildlife they saw throughout their safari from the guide. Every guide I met had the capability of *total recall* for the wildlife seen and every other detail possible, word spoken, clothing worn, bent tree etc.! This seems like a very basic service to me as a pleasure safari at its core = wildlife sightings (not by numbers necessarily, cheetah cubs – yes, I cannot imagine counting all the leaping critters – even in my own yard)! c) I agree that sending a checklist prior to the trip is non-functional. <font color="#5f9ea0"> <i>3) If the data from your checklist would help future travelers would that encourage you to check a list? </i> </font> <font color="#5f9ea0"> <i>4) If data from your checklist would help monitor and conserve wildlife would that encourage you to check a list? </i> </font> Pleasure safari -- cannot conceive any value. My first glance at these two questions I gleaned this would be for assisting professionals with research and data collection behind the scenes? If this is the case, yes, I would count darn near anything, even ants for the opportunity to learn and experience nature and people on the continent of Africa in a non-commercial way. And yes, I would pay to participate as a lowly grunt if I believed in your project and the work was truly functional along with raising needed funds. Curious, what exactly you meant here as it is entirely possible (probable) I have missed the meaning to these two questions. <font color="#5f9ea0"> <i>5) If a lodge/camp/operator gives monthly reports on what they see does that add interest in their operation? </i> </font> Educate the client. I want to be informed on the questions I do not know to ask! I would like the facts, truth, and all possible good and bad scenarios. No Spin. There is so much more to enjoy, experience, and learn about other than wildlife. Honestly, if I were adventurous enough *pffft* to engage is such a business which is naturally quite dynamic BUT in this case where the *uncontrollables* are numerous beyond comprehension that even the most clever person must surely be relying on potential for (long list), some deep belief or hope -- I would totally educate, prepare and pre-qualify the client! |
1.Experienced-only 2 safaris so far
2.No 3.No 4.Maybe,but depends on who is conducting and sponsoring the study,as well as how the data will be used... 5.Maybe.I have looked with interest at sites describing wildlife sitings at the camps,but am under no illusion that that is what I will experience when I visit. |
1)experienced safari traveler
2)yes if there were a good reason 3)yes so that's the reason 4)absolutely 5)yes Thanks!! |
1.1st safari
2.hell yes (i love filling out forms!) 3.no 4.yes 5.no, not really (though, if they were to do it, I'd like to see it organized per month...january is generally good for XXXX sightings, february is good for blah, blah,blah...if that's even possible) |
Huge thanks to everyone of you!! I appreciate your time and the enthusiasm and participation is dynamic, this really is a great community. Many of the comments are adding tremendous unexpected value on top of the basic poll.
I promise I will be forthcoming with a thorough explanation for those who are curious but I believe it is much more helpful to get your answers without being influenced by the project and the outstanding feedback helps me know how to explain things in a manner that will address the most common questions/concerns. As responses are still rolling in I'd like to keep it going and in a day or two when it seems to have slowed down I will reveal the explanations for my interest in these questions. Thanks again! |
I've enjoyed reading all the replies here and am curious to know more... My two cents:
1)Are you an experienced safari traveler or hoping for your first safari? A: Experienced? I've been on one really incredible safari, to Kenya and Tanzania. Hoping to return someday, and explore other countries as well. 2)If a camp/lodge/operator gave you a wildlife checklist would you check off the species you have seen? A: I kept my own little list of animals and birds that I saw in each park, as part of my journal. I wasn't interested in marking things off on a checklist, though. I do think it's a different experience to start with a list, versus starting with a blank page in a journal. 3)If the data from your checklist would help future travelers would that encourage you to check a list? A: Possibly -- as others have mentioned above, it depends on what you mean by "helping" future travelers. For example, I wouldn't do it if it was just for marketing purposes for the camp. That would feel like a chore. 4)If data from your checklist would help monitor and conserve wildlife would that encourage you to check a list? A: Absolutely. 5)If a lodge/camp/operator gives monthly reports on what they see does that add interest in their operation? A: I did enjoy reading online reports from some of the camps we visited while we were counting down the months to our safari (Oliver's Camp leaps to mind, and it was fun to follow some of the websites that try to track the migration). If the website is well done and well-written, it's a fun way to psych up for safari. But it didn't really influence what I expected to see while there. |
Ooh good point made by someone above:
"Sightings" reported by travellers are often unreliable. When we visited parks such as Addo, Hluhluwe, Ithala, Kruger, they often had display boards providing information on sightings reported by other guests. I remember noticing one report for black rhinos in an area in which we saw several different white rhinos but no black. It was mostly open grassland so not really the kind of environment I'd expect black rhino to favour, though they were present in other areas of the park. And then, sometime later, in a camp restaurant, I overhears a bunch of people talking about rhinos and how they'd seen a black rhino that morning. How did they know it was a black rhino? It was much darker than the white ones they'd seen the previous day! I've also been at camps in the Okavango to be regaled with stories of guests who had had a wonderful sighting of a tiger on their drive that morning, had we seen it? And believe it not, I've commonly come across confusion between cheetah and leopards. The expression "a leopard never changes its spots" doesn't help given that I'd describe the pattern on a cheetah's fur as spots but that on a leopard's fur as rings. |
1) Experienced
2) Yes, and I take notes on every game drive on the estimated number of each species seen (even for impala, elephants and other species seen in big numbers). 3) Yes 4) Yes 5) Yes |
Hi Bill,
late to this thread but here goes Geoff. 1)Experienced safari traveler 2)No - I use my own journal 3)No 4)Yes - I used to enjoy doing Selinda's monthly survey. Particularly the late night drive. 5)Yes - I enjoy reading game sighting reports. |
1. I've been 5 times
2. yes, if I can keep it and particularly if it includes bird species 3. Yes, but I'd need two copies so I could keep one 4. yes 5. I find I don't pay much attention to the journals on hand listing what's been seen. An overall list of likely-to-be-spotted animals is helpful in identifying what we see. Samcat |
1) experienced
2) yes-helps me remembr tri when back home years later 3) no 4) yes 5) yes absolutely |
1) #2 trip coming up soon
2) Yes, I printed out the ones off the Mala Mala website already. 3) Most likely 4) Yes 5) Yes, I prefer weekly/bi-weekly like Mashatu and Mala Mala. Something would be better than nothing though. <):) |
1. Experienced
2. Yes 3. Yes 4. Yes 5. Yes Just look at the value of Project Feederwatch, I totally get it. |
little late, but if you're still taking answers then:
1) Been once, planning 2nd trip 2) Perhaps, we wrote down the species that we saw, so I suppose it's no different than using a checklist 3) Yes 4) Perhaps, but I think I would want to know in what way it was being used. I'm not a scientist, and would be concerned that the info is not usable anyway 5) No, there is no guarantee that those animals/species will be seen when I am there anyway. |
1.) Regular visitor
2, 3, and 4) No, will not check any list ..... if it's for conservation purposes, will gladly donate any photos or information (as you know Bill). 5.No, because I believe it's just marketing for lodge/camp/operator. Cheers Marc |
1)Are you an experienced safari traveler or hoping for your first safari? Experienced by your definition but I blush in this company. 2)If a camp/lodge/operator gave you a wildlife checklist would you check off the species you have seen? I might. Half the time I do, the other half I don't. 3)If the data from your checklist would help future travelers would that encourage you to check a list? Yes. 4)If data from your checklist would help monitor and conserve wildlife would that encourage you to check a list? Absolutely in that case! 5)If a lodge/camp/operator gives monthly reports on what they see does that add interest in their operation? A big yes. One of the first things I look for is the sightings book in the lodge. (I prefer it when they have a sightings book maintained by the rangers and then the guests can make comments in the guestbook). I think monthly web reports are a good indication of what wildlife is being seen in their lodge. Something like that would have saved many of us from the disappointing news on arrival at a lodge known for wild dogs that they had not seen any that entire year. |
1. Working on being experienced! Three safaris so far.
2. No, probably easier to keep track in my notebook. 3. No. 4. Yes, if I felt the data was useful. That would mean rigor in identifying animals and their location at time of sighting. 5. Yes, but I think there's potential for 'marketing' as opposed to 'reporting'. |
1. I don't consider myself experienced but I've been to safaris in Kenya/Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa
2-5 Yes to all |
Bill,
I think you finally didn't explain the reason or objectives for the poll. I'm kinda curious to know, especially after you recent disclosure thanks |
1. Experienced (4 trips)
2. No. We maintain our own list for our own enjoyment and for relating to photos taken. 3. No. Have provided our "lists" via narratives posted on this forum. 4. Maybe. Depends on the gist of the survey. 5. Would enjoy seeing such but would also take "with a grain of salt" knowing conditions change. Hari said it better than I could. At one point I thought guides would be the ideal way for generating list but after having a really lousy one in Kenya have second thoughts. Probably the exception as the rest we have had were great. |
Thanks for topping this, I have been meaning to get back to it with an explanation but have been sidetracked. This is completely different than my recent disclosure and I will be sure to read back through it and post sometime today.
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Hi Bill,
1. We work on our experience, three safaris (SA, Bots/ZIM/SAM, Tanz/Kenya) so far and next one in 3 weeks (Kenya). 2. No. We note all in a little book if we are not too tired in the evenings. 3. No. 4. Yes, if data would be useful. 5. Yes and no. It is nice to know eg whether the migration is at some point or not. But detailed infos are as well causing disappointment. I think the adventure is nice and just not to know what the day could bring. Just to tell very general info is ok. All the best for your new business (lucky you!!!) Steff |
Hi,
1)Leaving next month for 1st time safari 2)yes-I'm a list person 3)sure 4)absolutely 5)yes, I think it would if I were more experienced and hadn't yet seen something specific. I hope this helps, Kym |
O.K. I did make it back technically by the end of my day and I have tabulated every answer but now it's past 3 a.m. and I don't want to give a lazy explanation.
Thanks to everyone for your time, having reviewed it all was very interesting and within the next 24 hours I will definitely share what this was all about. |
1. Experienced
2,3,4 No 5 yes provided it is brief, factual and available on a blog or web site etc, not forced down via spam email. |
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