Kruger Park Sightings IPHONE IPAD APP

[RobertT]

OD

If people who register on the site have to register with a vehicle registration you could police them if it is from the techno group by banning them from further reported sightings.

What is possibility of when a person reports a sighting, they could report also on the traffic at the sighting, some people may not head off to the sighting if they are aware there are already a lot of vehicles there?

In terms of the speed and prosecution of such without evidence, believe a warning will also serve a purpose. It makes the perpetrator aware that they are being monitored. Linking a cell number to a registration is not difficult as they have supposedly signed in at a gate linked to a database and provided both registration and cell number, it is just a case of accessing the database.

[Lisbeth]

Splendid post OD! I do not use those sophisticated means, as I prefer the surprise and the "do it yourself" old way. But you have come up with some very good solutions and others have too. If it could all be used to better the viability and stop the "gangsters" it would be great

The thing I hate most of all in those traffic jams is that you cannot pass them, because they take up the whole road without giving a thought to those, who just want to get away as fast as possible from the chaos or have a flight to catch

[Flutterby]

Great post OD!! You should get involved more often!

EWT has appointed me as their youngest Eco Ambassador as these sightings have helped them tremendously with their Wild Dog projects, Ground Hornbill project and road kill project. They have come up with a few discoveries due to following the wild dog sightings.

That's something to be proud of!! Well done!!

I would like to point out that staff members are allowed to go at 60kmph on tar and 50kmph on sand

How did I not know that? You learn something new everyday!

[Theuns]

Thanks for your post OD!

How many bird, hippo, croc, kudu, wildebeest, monkey, insect, tortoise, impala, etc sightings are reported by these groups? Let me guess...nothing or maybe next to nothing! How many lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, cheetah, painted dog, etc sightings are reported? Let me guess again...ALL OF IT with hordes of Big 5 seekers chasing chaotically after it!!

But then again if I posted more sightings of the more common species then traffic would be big around them too, would you want that?

No, I don't want that as well, but maybe by posting more sightings of common species the traffic jams could be less and more spread out. However, I don't think the Big5 chasers will rush to the impala, insect, reptile, etc, etc sightings at all!

What can be done about it? I don't think anything...they are here to stay and unfortunately/sadly it will get more and more chaotic by the day.

I think that instead of saying nothing can be done, I want you and everyone else who is interested in finding a solution to come up with ideas that we can try out to stop the bad behavior.

Well, in my books the best solution will be to block these applications, I'm not an expert on this and I don't know if it is even possible to do that.

I'm very interested to find a solution and agree with many others that education should be a priority, the problem is that when most of these Big5 chasers receive their sighting messages nothing will stop them getting there A.S.A.P.

[Lisbeth]

Maybe I should join one of those sightings "whatevertheyarecalled" and when I see a big 5 sighting comes up, I'll go in the opposite direction and enjoy a few squirrels

[Flutterby]

Well, it seems like a lot of people do actually use these sightings to plan their route in the opposite direction!

[Bushcraft]

Something like this "Lion sighted on the H1, but remember the speed limit is 50 on tar and 40 on dirt. You may not leave your car or have any part of your body protruding from the vehicle. Park on the side of the road closest to the sighting leaving the other lane open for those who want to pass by. Enjoy the sighting, but don't spoil it for others" Maybe even post a pic of some previous offenders.

Sooner or later I would hope that the message gets through to a lot more people that will read the entry permit, SPF or the AW forum

I think something like the above would be great

Members could also be encouraged to post pics of bad behaviour on the facebook site that Flutterby has set up. I’m sure that members would hate to see their own pic on that site, so would therefore control themselves at a sighting.

Your site’s membership is only going to grow exponentially as more become aware and therefore you are in a unique position to educate KNP visitors, but if left unchecked it could result in chaos in the future.

[Richprins]

Nice post, Odie!

And lucky to have a Park contact that actually is allowed to use info from concerned tourists!


Just a point of curiosity...do you have confirmation that the fines have actuallty been issued?

[Bushcraft]

Hey OD,

I just spotted a post on your site:

Blue light brigade in a hummer speeding on the H11 towards Paul Kruger Gate

12 comments already, some say they also spotted them yesterday speeding around, some say it’s only going to get worse with the planned hotels, some say if SANParks were serious they would ban them, etc, etc.

I’m glad that at least there’s an interest from members and it makes me feel way more positive about the benefits of technology

[cheetah]

Well said Ossy

Hi Oom Theuns! You will be happy to know that the updates are far more than just the big 5 plus dogs and cheetah!

It is nice to get a BBM explaining where you can find a giant eagle owl nest for instance! The next day when you drive along that route you can look out for it Ground Hornbills are a favorite to update on as well! Waterbirds fishing, large herds of animals, rare antelope etc are updated on the BBM group too Members also put up bird photos and ask for identification help! This often leads to birding tips and discussions!

The groups are more than just an avenue to update sightings, it is a community of nature lovers with various discussions You can compare it to the forum. These groups are used as an educational platform as well We have had discussions regarding the recessive white gene in animals for instance! It is nice to gain knowledge from your fellow BBM mates! And we cannot underestimate the value of expanding people's knowledge and interests about nature People will report a picture and say civet in the tree, and then get corrected that it is in fact a genet in the tree and discussion will follow :) the discussions get cleared after a few weeks, so I'm sorry I cannot list the discussions we have had

Group members also like to share pictures and stories! It is more a community of Kruger addicts that need their fix and friends of common interest than a bunch of Lion chasing speeders Group members will report bad service, slack gate attendants etc. Information about Rhino poaching has also been shared there. And people will indeed take photos of rule breakers and share it! I doubt that any group members can be oblivious to the rules after seeing these name and shames


Now there is more than one type of update group. What I have said above applies to the common Blackberry Updates groups. You need to wait until your admin broadcasts all the updates he gets in order to get all the updates in that network. Most of the time, you get the updates about an hour later than they actually happened! So the 'vibe' of the group is not to rush to the nearest update. The draw of the updates is the database of knowledge and cures your curiosity of what your friends are seeing when All that I have said above applies to this group.

The other type of group is the instant updates group. It is a group for people that are in the Park. The advantage is you can get the updates as they happen. (I think it is the wildwings group). If you are inactive, you get removed. I have never been bothered to join this, but I think it is this group that is more likely to rush from one update to the next. I think that the whatsapp, BBM and twitter are linked for the instant updates, but I cannot be sure. Ossy ... can you help me out here?

Anyway, my point is that these regular BBM groups are educational platforms where we can discuss animals and Kruger It serves much the same function of a forum