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Africa's wild animals on the web
10/01/2007 14:30 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Nature lovers worried
growing hordes of tourists might spoil a safari to Africa can
now watch the continent's wildlife live and in the raw on the
internet.
Canada's Infotec Business Systems Inc, which uses webcams to
broadcast live footage of wild animals on the web, says its
Africam site has captured the first live kill of an animal in
the wild streamed through the internet.
The site showed six lions hunt and kill a buffalo live on
Christmas Day at the Nkorho Pan on the edge of South Africa's
vast Kruger Park, Infotec BSI said on Tuesday.
"The majestic beauty of these animals is rarely seen by the
general public. Now we're able to share it with everyone,
without harming these animals," said Infotec BSI Chief Executive Arthur Griffiths in a statement.
The Nkorho stream, shown at www.africam.com and
www.wavelit.com, films a watering hole in the upscale Sabi Sands reserve on the edge of Kruger Park - one of the world's top game reserves - 24 hours a day.
On Tuesday morning a baboon slurped from the watering hole
while a cluster of bambi-like impala and a lone warthog chomped
on nearby patches of grass.
Infotec drummed up media attention last year when it
broadcast a live feed of two bird's nests. It later launched
Africam on its Wavelit internet video site and another stream
showing live footage of Canadian grizzly bears.
Websites like Africam have beamed still images from the
African bush around the world via the internet for several years
but better technology has made live video footage possible.
The number of people watching TV over the internet, or IPTV
(Internet Protocol Television) is expected to double to 13.3
million in 2007 and surge to 48.8 million by 2010, according to
industry analyst Gartner.
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