In an attempt to promote wildlife conservation, Google has launched its first-ever virtual Street View imagery of northern Kenya's Samburu National Reserve. The project – established in conjunction with the Save the Elephants charity organization and the Samburu County Government – follows a single road through the 165 square kilometers (64 square miles) of the lush Kenyan reserve, hoping to better tell stories of the elephants in the region.
The data was collected from a Google Street View car that drove through the track this past February, where elephants, zebras and a leopard can be seen, dotted along the way.
According to the Kenyan Tourist board, this is the country's first virtual tour of a national park.
"We hope that by bringing Street View to Samburu, we will inspire people around the world to gain a deeper appreciation for elephants," Google Kenya's Farzana Khubchandani told the AFP news agency.
David Daballen, head of field operations at Save the Elephants, hopes that a virtual glimpse into the park will inspire people to help in conservation efforts. At the Samburu National Reserve, there exist two main groups of elephants that were identified (by their characteristic tusks) via Street View: the Hardwoods and the Spice families. With an estimated 100,000 elephants killed for their ivory between 2010 and 2012, the ivory trade and loss of habitat is putting Africa's elephant population at enormous risk.
"The more people experience our culture, our people and the majestic elephants and other wildlife with which we co-exist, the more we are able to conserve and sustain the Samburu culture and its fragile ecosystem for generations to come," Samburu country governor Moses Lenolkulal told the AFP.
