App to locate animals Kruger Park

South Africa / App to locate animals causes concerns for Kruger Park authorities. Guided by an app, visitors to Kruger National Park are tearing off in their SUVs to spots where wildlife has just been sighted. “Two rhinos near Makhadzi” and off they go. Barely avoiding a family of warthogs crossing the road.

Apps like Latest Sightings, enabling users to pinpoint locations where something special has been spotted is a godsend for those who want quick results. At the same time, it leads to headaches. According to the management of the overarching SANParks, the apps are resulting in “an increasing level of lawlessness in the parks, leading to speeding offences, traffic jams and collisions with wildlife”.

Furthermore, not everyone wants to whizz through the park in this way. SANParks says it receives numerous complaints from people who enjoy having their patience rewarded after endless searching with an unspoiled glimpse of a leopard in a tree. There is no simple solution. SANParks says it is considering legal measures to curb the use of the apps.

Source: F. de Vries – Elsevier magazine issue 25 – 25 June 2016