Snapshot Serengeti Talk

What to do with this type photo??

  • kathelpingID by kathelpingID

    I can't tell if this is really an animal or plant blowing in wind. I think it's an animal because it seems a shadow gets cast on the ground. At least it appears to get darker between frame 2 & 3. But if animal which one??? Is it an ear or what part of an animal, IF one at all?

    But what do I do with these types of photos, just W.A.G. it?

    Posted

  • davidbygott by davidbygott moderator

    Just guess is all you can do. My guess is that this is a hyena ear - they sometimes rest here.

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  • BHamer by BHamer

    Even a total W.A.G. is better than a "No animals present" if there's a possibility that there might be an animal. There does seem to be a hint of a shadow (very observant of you!), and the plant in the foreground doesn't move at all, so I think you're right about it being an animal. I also think you're right about the visible part being an ear. Personally, my W.A.G. (W.E.G.?) would be a hyena ear, but who knows? Assuming it's an ear, we at least know that the animal isn't one of the birds and seems to be medium-sized, so there are actually quite a few possibilities that can be eliminated.

    A number of volunteers will see this image, and this is probably one of those where there would be a number of different guesses. That, however, is itself an indication that yes, this picture is hard to classify, and can prompt the experts on the SS team to look at it themselves if they wish. They may classify it correctly based on their expertise or they may discard it as useless, but either way, the collection of guesses from you and the other volunteers who take their best shot at it helps to get this capture handled appropriately.

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  • kathelpingID by kathelpingID

    Thanks to both of you. After I tagged it I thought it might be Hyena, though that's not what I tagged it as. Oh well .. Someone else will get it.

    I've had some real tough ones today .. not nice to do that to a newbie. lol This is so addicting & fun. I can almost imagine myself being there which makes it even more exciting.

    Edit: So it's best to just take a WAG even in these situations .. got it. That's what I've been doing. 😃

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  • tillydad by tillydad moderator

    The tough ones can really get the brain working overtime and then it (hopefully) suddenly becomes clear. Those moments are so rewarding.
    I would say, with near certainty, that this was the ear of a spotted hyena.

    Welcome to the site and carry on classifying 😃

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  • BHamer by BHamer

    kathelphingID, since you're a welcome newcomer to SS, I'd very much encourage you to read this blog post on guessing and difficult images if you haven't already: http://blog.snapshotserengeti.org/2012/12/14/we-need-an-i-dont-know-button/

    I pretty much borrowed my shorthand suggestion above straight from it, but it gives a more detailed explanation of why guessing is still helpful. I wonder if maybe I was wrong about my expectation that there would be a wide variety of guesses on this image- with all three people posting replies here thinking that the mystery shape was actually a hyena ear, it might be that most other people seeing this picture would guess that, too. In which case, that is very likely to be an accurate classification- the SS team has posted elsewhere in the blogs that the amateur volunteers collectively get the right answer on about 97% of the images. You know how many the experts get? 97%.

    Admittedly, it took me a little while to get comfortable with taking wild guesses, but I've come around. The guessing crowd collectively possesses a good bit of expertise, even though most members individually (myself absolutely included) don't. Remember, it would more efficient for the researchers if computers could do this kind of classification, but they just can't. Only those incredible human brains we each have can deal with guesses and judgment calls- that's why Zooniverse projects want our help.

    Glad you're helping! Enjoy yourself.

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  • kathelpingID by kathelpingID

    @tillydad Yes it does get brain working which is good thing to keep it sharp as I age. LOL Like I mentioned I can almost feel like I'm there hiding in a 'blind' just waiting for animal to show up. And then eureka! there one is!

    @Bhamer, Thanks, I've read that post & makes perfect sense to me. Also read many others to get tips on identifying those hard ones which has helped, along with other tidbits of useful info. And I learned how to hashtag too. 😃 Though I only hashtag those I'm positive of ID.

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  • monkeyboy23 by monkeyboy23

    http://talk.snapshotserengeti.org/?&_ga=1.129398220.1710051423.1423694110#/subjects/ASG001bgzl
    if the time tags are correct same day 1 1/2 hours later. Hyena.

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  • kathelpingID by kathelpingID

    Ah cool! I don't recall what I chose (bounced around few times) but after I finished & was looking at next image it was still bugging me so looked at Hyena & realized it was probably a Hyena ear. Somehow missed looking at it before. Others will ID it right as there seemed to be a consensus even before your photo.

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  • tillydad by tillydad moderator in response to kathelpingID's comment.

    @Bhamer, you are right to only use the hashtag when you are positive about the ID. I have used the "search" facility for various reasons and it is clear that some use the hashtag incorrectly, and this makes a search very difficult.
    Keep up the good work and carry on classifying ! 😃

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  • BHamer by BHamer

    Actually it's kathelpingID who is being appropriately cautious with the hashtags (she was responding to me), although I try to be, too. I don't think I've done a wrong hashtag yet, fortunately. I doubt even half my errors have been on other classifications on which I was certain. 😃

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  • tillydad by tillydad moderator in response to BHamer's comment.

    @BHamer , oops, sorry ! 😃

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