NEW YORK, New York - Google Maps has gone on safari. The service announced a partnership with Save the Elephants (STE) to promote wildlife conservation. Take a walk through Samburu National Reserve, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust via Street View. The project allows Internet browsers to go on safari from the comfort of their home and hopefully be inspired to learn more about the wildlife they find along the way.
The Google Maps team explored 64 square miles of Kenya's Samburu National Reserve's roads in February 2015, photographing elephants, zebras, and leopards along the way.
How to navigate:
- Type in "Samburu National Reserve HQ" into your Google Maps search bar
- Locate the square labeled "Earth" in the bottom left-hand corner of your screen
- Click this square and zoom out
- Zoom out
- Locate the yellow human figure icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen
- Drag this icon over the map and drop over a blue highlighted region that will appear
- Explore!
Return to your Google Maps search bar and enter "David Sheldrick Wildife Trust" or "Lewa Wildlife Conservancy."
While traveling through Samburu, users can read about various elephant families, identified by their thematic names.
Save the Elephants states more than 100,000 African elephants fell victim to poaching 2010-2012. Conservationists believe the trading of ivory and loss of habitat are placing the currently vulnerable African elephant population in danger. STE shares the latest estimates of total African elephants to range between 419,000 and 650,000.
From aerial surveys to GPS collars, Save the Elephants is one of the foremost elephant research organizations in the world. Primarily based in Samburu, STE conducts research and provides scientific insight on elephant behavior, intelligence and long-distance movement. The organization works with global partners to apply their research to the long-term challenges of elephant conservation.
research to the long-term challenges of elephant conservation.
