Google launched its Street View Service in Kenya’s Samburu National Park in eastern Africa. Normally Google uses this as a map service for residential and commercial areas all around the world. Now, Internet users can go on a virtual safari in conservation zone.
Google cameras zoom in and out, just like its regular Street View Service. Instead of neighborhoods with houses, apartment buildings, or businesses, people can see African elephants and leopards in their natural habitats. A Google car drove through the conservation area in February to record the images.
Google partnered with the nonprofit organization called Save the Elephants to increase awareness and promote wildlife preservation. Kenya is struggling to protect 30,000 wild elephants in the region. Environmentalists say that illegal trade and loss of habitat are putting Africa’s elephants at risk. Proper action to preserve decreasing elephants is required now.
A Samburu government official said, “The more people who encounter our culture and wildlife animals, the more they are able to help sustain the Samburu ecosystem.”