Kruger Park to ban smartphone apps?

Mobile phone technology is causing havoc in South Africa’s most popular wildlife park, inducing road rage and “an unhealthy eagerness” among visitors to break the rules as they stampede to the scene of animal kills.

SANParks says the recent introduction of mobile wildlife sighting apps, which allow visitors to share information on interesting animal sightings, has led to a wave of lawlessness, with visitors breaking the speed limit, causing massive congestion around kills and even knocking over innocent animals as they speed to the scene of wildlife kills.

Now park officials are exploring a ban or restriction on these apps in Kruger National Park and other parks.

SANParks spokeswoman Hapiloe Sello said the mobile wildlife sighting apps had become “a major source of concern”.

“The rise in the use of these applications has resulted in an increased rate of lawlessness, including speeding, congestion at sightings as well as road kills caused by guests rushing to and congregating around these sightings.” Sello said park managers had been inundated with scores of complaints.

“As an organisation we appreciate the fact that technology has evolved and that guests are taking advantage of it; however, this is compromising the values of good game viewing in national parks.”

She said SANParks, as a leader in global biodiversity conservation, could not turn a blind eye to the trend.

“Most guests appreciate the leisurely drive through the parks and the potential reward of a good sighting as a key element of the visitor experience. This is an experience that SANParks commits to protecting and therefore the usage of these mobile applications is in direct contradiction to the ethos of responsible tourism espoused by SANParks.

“We discourage the use of these mobile applications as they tend to induce an unhealthy sense of eagerness for visitors to break the rules, and we are exploring legal mechanisms to curtail the use of sightings apps,” she said.