I stumbled on this just a few minutes ago and have kept it running in the background while I work – National Geographic’s WildCam Africa, a live video feed from a place called Pete’s pond, part of Botswana’s Mashatu Game Researve. For the past 30 minutes (starting at 9:45 EST) I’ve been watching an empty pond become a resting place for a herd of elephants, as a trickle of fleet-footed youngsters lead to a stream of adults.
As the site reads, it all came about as a result of some “technical ingenuity, tinkering with satellite coordinates, some switching and routing of video data, and no small share of critterproofing.” Great stuff. The site also has a small “video highlights” section with clips of Wildebeests, Warthogs, Baboons and more. Peak viewing hours are listed as 7 am – noon and 4-6 pm. (Botswana is 6 hours ahead of the east coast of the U.S.).
The camera has the ability to move, which surprised me when it first happened, so if you don’t see anything when it first loads, be patient. If no large animals show up, there’s always the pleasant sound of birds chirping. If you can’t commune with nature, it looks like the web can bring it to you. Finally! 😉