I really enjoy expanding my life list and would like to make it reflect some more of the other creatures I’ve seen but I’m worried about flooding casual grade observations onto the site. But I’d also like to put up some of the animals I’m likely to never capture images of in the wild from my trips to the zoo. Would love some opinions on this and can share more of my thought process.
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Hardly anyone would see them, aside from people who follow you. I wouldn’t worry about it.
You could also make a manual list of species you’ve seen in zoos or something (I’ve made a list of animals that have bitten, stung, or pinched me), but they wouldn’t appear in your dynamic life list or your account’s stats.
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You can do your life list however you choose. I personally don’t include anything captive/cultivated. … it’s what I photo that’s in a wild state.
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That’s super fair! Part of my plan is to get my life list printed after a year on the site of everything to that date as a big poster
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If it brings you joy and closer to nature, go for it. Get out of the house, engage in the world around you, and do the things you like. Maybe you will learn about the animals or their captivity. Maybe you will go out and try to find a wild one on a safari or adventure after all.
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That is part of why I wanted to feature some of them! The zoo is where my dad took me lots when I was younger and those animals birthed both my love of nature and of photography. I wouldn’t do this if it weren’t for them and it felt weird to not have them included in my journey!
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I’d say go for it, but how about this extra challenge: while you’re at the zoo, how many wild observations can you make too? Any birds making visits to the elephant enclosure? Any flies on the trash cans by the snack bar, or weeds in the walkways, or jumping spiders on the walls of buildings? I saw a cool observation of an African snail in a European greenhouse the other day, it had clearly just hitched a ride on something…
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In my opinion there’s nothing wrong with casual observations, as long as they are tagged correctly. I’m always thrilled to add new species to my observations, especially if it’s nice clear pictures.
I do also add my plant observations from Botanical Gardens, and because of that, over the years I’ve been able to provide photos of two or three rare and/or endemic species that had 0 observations and therefore no pictures before. So it’s not like casual observations aren’t good for anything at all. :)
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I have no problem with casual observations. I do try to identify them as such. However, in my previous location, I had many native plants, which attracted butterflies, birds, native and european bees, lizards, etc. Would not have been able to capture photos of native/wild species were it not for having a mostly native plant yard. Have recently moved to a new home (rented) where the yard is maintained by the landlord and few native plants are around, other than dandelions. Fortunately, can visit a relative’s conservation acreage, where many native (and some exotic) plants can be found.
I do try to focus on plants in the wild - whether native, introduced, or invasive.
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