So, what’s the problem with the spotlights?
The way that we have traditionally found these animals at night is by using a bright white spotlight, scanning quickly from left to right and up and down hoping to spot the reflection from the animals’ eyes.
Once spotted and identified as a nocturnal animal, you would then stop and view the animal with that same white spotlight. The problem with this is it’s hugely insensitive and disruptive to the animal.
If you have ever been walking around at night with your eyes ‘adjusted’ to the dark and then had a spotlight shone on you, you will know the feeling of being temporarily blinded for a few moments. If not, try it! It’s actually takes a surprisingly long time for your eyes to re-adjust to seeing in the dark again.
Now imagine being a zebra at night in the African bush, not knowing if there’s a pride of lions waiting to ambush you, and then being blinded by a spotlight. You would immediately become distressed and disorientated, and the ultimate outcome may be different to how nature had intended. On the other hand, if it’s a predator that has been spotted, it could potentially expose it to potential prey, thus spoiling a hunt.
To overcome this issue whilst on a night drive, respectful lodges will use red light filters on their spotlights.