7 May 2013

Thank you

I just wanted to saw a big thank you to the growing community out there who are using this forum. When I set this up on wordpress I hoped it would become a place where we could all share and request information, as well as post pictures of species we wanted to ID etc. The forum has been growing slowly but in the last few weeks in particular I’ve noticed more activity with some great advice on trip planning coming in, as well as expert help with animals IDs. So thank you to all who take the time to help others.

I set up the mammalwatching site and this forum to try to take some of the luck out of mammal watching. To try to increase people’s chances of finding what they were looking for. I’ve long had a theory that its possible to see just about every species of mammal in the world relatively easily (note easy is not the same as cheaply!) so long as we go to the right place at the right time and search in the right way. But for many species most of us don’t know where the right place is and so we rely often more on luck than judgement. Slowly we are discovering the right places and sharing what we find. And then, around those right places, a cottage industry of mammal tours can spring up which generally ought to help protect the species (though I know it can bring problems too). Twenty years ago when I started getting interested in mammals I think the idea of seeing a Snow Leopard, a Giant Panda, a Jaguar or even an Iberian Lynx were a pipedream. But now finding them is more than likely in Hemis, the Quinling Mountains, the Pantanal or Andujar. I wonder which of the megaspecies we are going to find sites for in the next 20 years? Sumatran Rhino? Okapi? Unicorn?

And for those who read, but don’t post, can I please try to encourage everyone to post whatever they want (within reason!). This site is meant to be for everyone and I’m thrilled when new people post, even if its just to say g’day or to suggest things I could do better or differently to make the site more useful.

So thanks again everyone.

Jon

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7 Comments

  • 7 May 2013
    vdinets

    Come on, it is us who should thank you for creating and maintaining the site. You are working here while we are just having fun.

  • 7 May 2013
    tomeslice

    Yeah, thank YOU for creating this website.. It single-handedly made my past 5 years 67.461% more adventurous. You know how I found it?
    I once googled “best place in the world to see a puma” and landed on your Torres del Paine report… I instantly knew we would become friends. lol.

  • 7 May 2013
    Curtis Hart

    Thank you! I probably saw an extra 20 species of mammals in South Africa due to your trip reports. You also made me realize that it is possible to search for and identify small mammals and bats.

    Curtis Hart

  • 7 May 2013
    Mike Richardson

    I wholeheartedly agree with the others! You created this fantastic resource and you continue to work tirelessly to keep it updated.

    I couldn’t help smiling when I read a comment several posts below. Something about scrolling through countless bird reports in the vain hope that the author had made brief notes on the mammals he/she had seen while on the trip. That’s exactly what I used to do until I found mammalwatching.com.

    Many thanks Jon!

    I’m also grateful for the many contributors to this forum who have given me advice, helped my with Ids or just provided something interesting to read in my lunch hour at work.

    Mike

    • 7 May 2013
      Jon Hall

      Thanks Mike and others… I set this up precisely because I was using birders trip reports in the same way and I got birding-envy. Why should they get all the useful resources? One nice thing about the site is that I get discrete messages from birders who effectively “come out”… ” You know I’ve always been interested in mammals but didn’t like to mention it/ thought it was too hard to see them seriously” etc. So we are doing are own bit for promoting equality and tolerance 🙂

  • 10 May 2013
    PandaSmith

    Are you kidding! This website has cost me more money than I can ever say! My wife has blocked it from our browser – she says she’d rather me be surfing for porn than to visite Mammalwatching.com…..Thanks to Mammalwatching.com, I will never be able to retire let alone be able to feed my family next year! This website has been like heroin….;-) Just kidding! It’s made our world so much richer! Everyone in my family read it regularly – even Cokie! Thanks Jon!

  • 25 May 2013
    Jurek

    Thank you Jon, for such an useful website.

    The only thing I would welcome is how to see mammals spending less money. Often you can perfectly see the mammal using small hotel, hired car and your own legs – if you know precise location and perhaps contact of local guide!

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