Google has taken its Street View project to one of the coldest and most remote places on Earth, mapping the frozen wilderness of northern Canada in search of polar bears.
The tech giant used a specially-adapted buggy to record 360-degree images along the shores of Hudson Bay - home to one of the largest polar bear populations in the world.
The interactive tour of the icy terrain around Churchill, Manitoba, offers a rare glimpse into the animals' natural habitat.
A polar bear watches on as the specially-designed tundra buggy passes by A team of scientists, who spent two months mapping the barren landscape, came face to face with polar bears several times as the endangered creatures waited for the sea to freeze over.
The data they collected will be passed to Polar Bears International (PBI), which uses Google Maps to track the animals' movements.
Simon Gee, of Frontiers North Adventures, which provided the research vehicle, said: "We had one polar bear come up to the buggy - something we call buggy love.
Some images were collected using cameras carried by scientists. Pic: Google "When you come eye to an eye with a polar bear and can feel its breath, it's an amazing moment."
BJ Kirschhoffer, director of PBI, said he hoped the project would encourage people to think about the impact they have on the environment.
"Polar bears live on sea ice and building a fence around it (to protect it like other habitats around the world) wouldn't make any difference - it wouldn't stop the ice melting," he said.
"But people living further south from here can make a difference - they can reduce their carbon footprint and that will save the sea ice.
"Bringing it all together visually for people to explore themselves is key, and Google Street View allows people to freely wander out here from the comfort of their home."
According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are fewer than 25,000 polar bears left in the wild.
Of the 19 population groups dotted around the Arctic, nearly half are in decline, and the charity has warned numbers will continue to dwindle due to habitat loss and hunting.
:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Google Takes Street View To Polar Bears' Home
Dengan url
http://anterinjemput.blogspot.com/2014/02/google-takes-street-view-to-polar-bears.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Google Takes Street View To Polar Bears' Home
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Google Takes Street View To Polar Bears' Home
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar