As suspected a Poltergeist & not a ghost.... Adds smilie to indicate I'm being funny! Yea! Right!

Although I am in agreement in your assumptions that mistakes are copied leading to further mistakes which finally become the "truth!"
It has happened in all fields of research!

You seek black & white answers in a world full of grey areas! Or is that "Gray?"
And for me I'm glad of those area's as it makes for Humanity not automatons.

My Neighbour has a few sheep! (What is a few?)
A mile away there is a shepherd with flocks numbering 100 or more.
To my neighbour & me he has a lot of sheep!
To an Au sheep station he has only a few!
No answer as it is all relevant to ones perspective.

I have no problems with your questions & welcome them we should never take any thing as stated & without question.
But Jan tried her best to answer your questions Which you continued to answer with "Thank you I mean no harm as you then proceeded to put the boot in!....Again.
To Jan there was a lot of lions!
To someone else Jans "Lot" may only be a "Few!"

I'm sorry but I found your style of questioning abrasive as if you were looking for confrontation rather than answers to your questions.

Although I do not agree with all that Carsten has posted I fully understand & agree with his stance!

With the global downturn in the world economy,along with others the Safari industry is feeling the pinch & operators/lodges are more & more turning to sites such as this disguised as members but with ulterior motives!
I welcome them here & I'm sure all other members do so just as long as they let their interest known to the members so we can understand that there may be a bias in their opinion.

Sites such as this are often attacked by the unethical hunting fraternity who support the cruelty, nothing else matters to them but the Kill! For me & I believe others including ethical hunters are welcome here hunting is a part of life & I believe conservation but as the so called "Intelligent species" Cruelty should play no part in our lives.

Another often visitor to sites such as this & again dressed in sheep's clothing are the big cat / exotic pet keepers where IMHO their intent is to only pump up their own ego & the true welfare of the animal is neglected.

So I ask that you introduce yourself, your intentions & true interests, in is no matter if we agree just so long as we are able to debate & respect each others opinion.
Even your signature is the motto of the Parachute Regiment!

Until then I regret I have little patience with your stance & style of posting.

Kipper:

You wrote:
> My Neighbour has a few sheep! (What is a few?) A mile away there
> is a shepherd with flocks numbering 100 or more. To my neighbour
> & me he has a lot of sheep! To an Au sheep station he has only
> a few! No answer as it is all relevant to ones perspective. To Jan
> there was a lot of lions! To someone else Jan's "Lot" may only be
> a "Few!"

Yes. You have it exactly. So when Jan writes: "lots of lions", only Jan knows what it means. Yet Jan wants to give information to others.

"lots of lions in the Aruba area" poses three questions:-
1. What is meant by "lots"?
2. How is the "area" defined?
3. How can the reader assess the reliability of the information?

In contrast, as a hypothetical example, if one wrote:

"During a 2 week stay in Tsavo, I twice saw a group of 5 lions within 10 km of Aruba. It may have been the same group each time. So I think there are a lot of lions at Aruba",

then I have a much better idea what the writer means. I may not agree with the deduction that there are a lot of lions, but I do have an appreciation how the writer got there.

> You seek black & white answers in a world full of grey areas!

No; not at all. I merely seek better communication. I never expected to get precise figures; just a fair statement of the writer's knowledge such as in the hypothetical example immediately above.

> And for me I'm glad of those area's
> as it makes for Humanity not automatons.

Oh, come on! Effective communication doesn't turn us into automatons; quite the opposite.

> I have no problems with your questions & welcome them we should
> never take any thing as stated & without question.

Yes, so everyone keeps saying. But why then all the spooky stuff about "boots" and "abrasive" and ulterior motives?

> as if you were looking for confrontation rather than answers to
> your questions.

No. It was just that each "answer" only posed more questions.

Analytical and sceptical perhaps, but not confrontational.

> With the global downturn in the world economy, along with others
> the Safari industry is feeling the pinch & operators/lodges are
> more & more turning to sites such as this disguised as members
> but with ulterior motives! I welcome them here & I'm sure all other
> members do so just as long as they let their interest known to
> the members so we can understand that there may be a bias in their
> opinion.

Everyone is biased; some are more objective than others! If you categorise people and then assume a bias, that is prejudice?

> Until then I regret I have little patience with your stance &
> style of posting.

Your choice entirely. I wouldn't dream of persuading you otherwise.

I seem to have come in the wrong door. So I'll excuse myself quietly and back out, leaving you to chat amongst yourselves.

All the best ,

Goodbye.

I\'m sorry that you feel you have to leave by any door!

But Jan answered your question in her first reply to you

Jans reply to your question

I couldn\'t tell you the number of lions in Tsavo. I do know there have always been prides of lions that live near Aruba Dam. Tsavo would be a difficult place to get a lion count due to its thick bush in places.

Not being satisfied with Jans answer you then asked

Well, I am not surprised that exact figures for lions in Tsavo are hard to come by; presumably the number would fluctuate somewhat anyway depending on rains, etc. But your 3 adults and 2 juveniles several years ago doesn't sound like "a lot of lions". Could it possibly be that there are not many lions and that it is the same few being sighted over and over again?

So why continue to harass Jan?

Jan had already given you her answer! "She does not know!"

In contrast, as a hypothetical example, if one wrote:

"During a 2 week stay in Tsavo, I twice saw a group of 5 lions within 10 km of Aruba. It may have been the same group each time. So I think there are a lot of lions at Aruba",

So now we're to receive classes in how to write our views / statements / reports?

But why then all the spooky stuff

It was you who mentioned Ghosts & Hauntings!!!!

Following the line of your questions indicated that you wanted definite answers that nobody, here or elsewhere know the answers to! When every lion is shot or tagged could anyone come near to answering your questions but then as populations move about, or scarper because their mates are being shot / tagged the final figure attained is still not correct.

There is no problem in asking questions but your style was aggressive, instead of everyone wanting to help in your search I & others one felt little inclined to help.

Hmmm! Why did I write this? Taru has left the site!