Google Earth Hero: Save The Elephants

>> If the ocean's not healthy, we’re not healthy. >> One of the greatest threats to elephants today is… >> They'll be able to take photographs, videos, that are G.P.S. located, immediately upload to Google Earth and use this as a way to protect the forest. [pause] >> IAIN DOUGLAS-HAMILTON: The elephants right now, in Africa, are facing a particularly tough time. There is the most terrible drought that’s biting into their population. And at the same time, the price of ivory has gone up and the poaching is increasing. In the past, elephants in large parts of East Africa and Central Africa were almost wiped out by the ivory trade. We’re very worried that there could be another major outbreak of legal killing. Our organization, "Save the Elephants," primarily looks at elephant decision making through studying their movements. So if we can get inside the elephant by interpreting the motivation for different movements, then we can understand their needs. And if we truly understand their needs, maybe we can meet these and secure their future. We’ve been using Google Earth as a very easy way to find out what our elephants are up to, and where they are going. It links in perfectly to our remote tracking system, so the information is almost a continuous stream of the elephants’ whereabouts. When an elephants stops moving, we can then send a Google Earth file indicating the place where the elephant has stopped. Then, the Kenya Wildlife Service can send out a patrol to go and investigate. If nothing were to be done by any government to protect elephants, they would probably be wiped out. We’re at a crucial stage now, where we can act and help management to take wise decisions using the information that we’re getting through the tracking, and displayed by Google Earth.