Madhya Pradesh is known for its tiger reserves, jungle safari tours and wildlife photography. Large number of tourists are visiting these safari destinations in period from October to June month. These visitors use to capture wildlife photographs and sighting videos, on various social media platforms. Now a days, a sense of undeclared competition is going on between safari lovers due to which everybody want to have best safari experience and share them in social media to attain large number of likes and followers. In this undeclared competition, safari vehicle drivers, guides and visitors, many time dare to deliberately overlook park management rules and here debate arises on safari ethics and malpractices. Here we will try to understand what are our common mistakes during safari drives, which we should try to avoid and educate other also to be a good safari visitor.
Many tourists, mostly first time visitors, often does mistake on dressing. While doing jungle safari drives, we should wear such colored vehicles which are matching to our surrounding color like jungle green, light grey, beige, light brown color, sandy brown, pale brown are some best suitable colors. Using camouflage dress are even better and often used by professional photographers, frequent visitors, safari guides and safari drivers. Full sleeve dress is better to avoid sun-burn or itching as safari vehicles are open to sky. If we will wear some shiny or striking color, it will distract wild animals and birds thus cause adverse affect on our sighting and photography probability.
In urban lifestyle, use of perfume during outside visit is in our habit. We are so habitual that on daily basis we use strong perfume as we go out on daily basis. During jungle safari drives, we should strongly refrain from using any perfume of strong smell cream. Reason lies on sensitivity of wild animals. Birds and animals have strong smell sense and use of perfume will distract them during our close presence. This distraction will cause adverse affect on our sighting probability.
While doing jungle safaris, calls from birds and animals are common. During predator presence at nearby location or during any doubt or feeling of threat, wild animals like deers, antelopes, langurs, birds pass alert message to others through jungle calls. These calls can be heard from long distance. Safari guide uses these calls as clue for animal tracking. In order to hear them and try to guess the distance and location, safari guide need undisturbed atmosphere. So here our duty is to avoid any unnecessary discussion or talking, during safari drives. So our priority should be to talk less, see and hear more. As per situation, we should ask question and seek information from guide.
Tiger is the prime motive behind safari drives for majority of tourists. Once safari vehicles get tip off on any tiger sighting, jeeps from different corners of a safari zone, starts rushing towards that spot. If tiger sighting spot is at some narrow safari trail then struggle to position themselves to have clear view of tiger is obvious. Here suddenly we will notice that all tourists become so selfish that they will forget all rules and position themself ruthlesessly, without caring if others view is blocked or not. Many times, during tiger sighting, cluster of safari vehicle block the way of tigers from frong side and back side. Here being a responsible tourists, we need to keep distance from tiger, give them proper space so that they can walk on there way. Shouting and road blocking should be avoided at all cost. During tiger sighting, after 5-10 minutes, we should give chance to other visitors also so that they will also enjoy the sighting.
As wildlife photography is widely adoped passion among amature photographers thus they love to visit national parks for wildlife photography. Now a days, new trend is popular among competing amature wildlife photographers. During exclusive tiger sighting moments, for sake of some unique shots, they deliberately drop some stuff in front of tiger like plastic bottle, cap, camera hood etc. Due to curiosity, tiger try to hold it in his mouth and photographers take multiple shots of such moments. Later they share this in social media platforms to gain more likes and attention. It is a severely criticized act and also falls in criminal offence category. We should avoid such mal-practice and discourage others from sharing such images on social media platforms. Being a responsible traveler, we whould also stay away from liking or commenting on such photographers. Our like and comments on such posts will encourage others for repeating such mal-practices.
Blocking the wild animal natural movement is treated as an offence but often it is not proved or overlooked by management as not been reported with due evidence. During tiger sighting, mostly such problem occurs. During tiger sighting, all photographer rushes for head-on shots thus try to position themselves in front of tiger and similarly we have noticed that some other jeeps remain on back side of tiger. It is a common seen at popular tiger reserves. Here, for sake of good shots, tourists often reduce the gap between tiger and safari vehicle due to which tiger or any other animal become hesitant in walking and get inconvenient or confused. This often results into spoiling the sighting and photography opportunity as fedup from such road blocking, animals often leave the safari trail and detour themselves into the forest side. Thus we should always try to maintain sufficient gap between animal and safari vehicle so that animals can walk without any hesitation and thus we can increase our sighting duration, beneficial for all other tourists also.
For sake of photography, calling an animal or a bird by using mimicry voices is immoral and malpractice. Driving fake attention is an offence and thus safari driver and guide may be punished for it. It means you and hampering the natural life of birds and animals. We should stay away from such mal-practices.
At all the national park, there is some speed limit to be followed by all the safari vehicle drivers. Inside the tiger reserve, our status is of guest and animals have the first right to move through safari trails. Toursits are expected to give due respect to the animal's right. Many time, on getting the update of tiger movement at any remote spot of forest, safari driver often start driving fast, overlooking the speed limit. As per rule it is offence. Many times, for sake of photography or sighting, tourists also put pressure on safari driver to drive fast. This is an immoral and considered as a malpractice. We should avoid it. In order to put control over this malpractice, GPS system was installed in vehicles.
Wildlife is very sensitive towards our cooked food items. During breakfast time, all safari vehicle assembles at central-point to have our packed breakfast. At such places, crows, squirrel, monkeys and other birds often come close to visitors. At such point of time, we should must not offter anything to them. At many national park, proper rooms are offered to visitors so that they can have breakfast inside the room and leave residual in dustbin. By offering them our cooked food items, we are not helping them but unknowingly put there life in risk. It may have adverse effect on animals and thus it is treated as an obstacle in natural life of wild animals and birds. Offering food to them is an offence thus we should stay away from such practice.
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