Calling up animals - allowed or not ?

[serval]

http://www.sanparks.org/forums/viewtopi ... 8&start=30

We had the most fabulous lion sighting here during a night drive where we were totally surrounded by a pride of lions. Our guide switched off all the lights of the vehicle and did a performance similar to a stressed buffalo calf. This was about 4 years ago. We had our grandson with us as well and did he enjoy this! We will never forget this as the guide went more than the extra mile to please us.
Since then we go this route every year and have an early morning breakfast at Mlondozi.
Thanks to the Sanpark guides who create these opportunities for us to keep as really good experiences.

Bush Baptist
Post subject: Re: S122 - Muntshe Loop Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 8:11 am

pietercl44 wrote:
We had the most fabulous lion sighting here during a night drive where we were totally surrounded by a pride of lions. Our guide switched off all the lights of the vehicle and did a performance similar to a stressed buffalo calf.

You are lucky you didn't get a very close look at the lions. Like inside your vehicle.

You are lucky you didn't get a very close look at the lions. Like inside your vehicle.

Sincerely distressing - I thought interfering with the ways of the wild was the preserve of private game lodges - it surely habituates animals .
Attracting animals in an unnatural manner is not what the wilderness is about , it should be outlawed ...?

Ifubesi
Post subject: Re: S122 - Muntshe Loop Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 12:18 pm

Agreed Ndloti. This is unacceptable behaviour from the guide.
Pietercl44, we don't want to pick on you because you probably were not aware of the negative implications something like this can have in the long run.
But next time a guide does something like this, please confront him and let him know that it is serious misconduct and really no different from the guy from that private concession who was fired last week for charging an elephant.
This type of thing can cause lions to start associating game viewing vehicles with food and we don't even want to think of the potential consequences...

In my opinion anything that a guide does that manipulates the behaviour of wild animals being viewed is totally unacceptable. And I include bird guides playing birdcalls to attract certain species.

pietercl44
Postsubject: Re: S122 - Muntshe Loop Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 9:41 pm

Without disturbing Oscar Wilde's soul too much (RIP) as per the quote above, we thoroughly enjoyed this night drive together with a full load of other people. We were never in danger at that point in time. It was a clear night with full moon and bright stars. Thanks to a responsible and enterprising guide who used some initiative. Please never react if you were not on the spot personally.
We have visited the Kruger yearly for the past approximately 30 years using the KNP accommodation and later by caravan and I can assure you that we have been in far more danger inside a camp with hienas, baboons or leopards inside the enclosure where little kids were running around!
Muntshe loop will always provide you with good viewing and this remains one of our favourite routes.
Will be in Lower Sabie again during July 2013 again.

Thanks to a responsible and enterprising guide who used some initiative. Please never react if you were not on the spot personally.

There are guides on the forum. Let's see how they react.

Due to a responsible and enterprising guide who used some initiative. Please never react if you were not on the spot personally.

There are guides on the forum. Let's see how they react.

Coincidentally I am a qualified FGASA field guide and I stand by my previous post on this matter. Pietercl44, you are obviously a passionate and experienced Kruger visitor so I don't doubt your love for nature for one second. But please try and understand my views on manipulating animal behaviour. When we are in the privileged position to enter these wild animals' habitat, we should do so with great respect and only as observers. I know this incident that you witnessed seems insignificant, but think what the impact would be if this guide does the same thing on every night drive. What if all guides in the lowveld start doing this on their drives. Quickly we are left with 100's of incidents daily where animal behaviour are manipulated by humans. Surely we don't want this in an area still classified as wild?

That is enough from me. Let the original topic of the wonderful Muntshe Loop rather continue and Pietercl44, thanks for being a loyal Kruger supporter. We are all brothers and sisters in conservation even though we sometimes disagree on certain matters .

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2R, KTP, 18 - 22 Mar 2013.


This reported activity took place on a Sanparks game drive .

Can the KNP spokesperson confirm if the playing of recorded animal sounds to entice animals (in partivular predators) is merely frowned upon or is it prohibited ?

[Bushcraft]

I always thought that it was prohibited

[Mel]

It's definitely prohibited for visitors, but more than unethical for rangers to do it, methinks.
There are good enough reasons mention in the posts servals quoted to explain the why's...

[Richprins]

Ja, it is prohibited. In fact the ethos behind night drives was always to travel tourist roads and show tourists the small things that changed after sunset. Probably an isolated incident, and not the end of the world.?

[Mel]

Hopefullly an isolated incidence

[serval]

Hopefully isolated .