南非的“虛擬狩獵之旅”活躍在世界各地

南非的“虛擬狩獵之旅”活躍在世界各地

Most visitors wanting to see big game in Africa jet in from faraway places, so when the new coronavirus grounded flights and put the world into lockdown, the legendary African safari died.

大多數(shù)游客都想從很遠的地方乘飛機前來觀賞非洲的大型動物，所以當(dāng)新型冠狀病毒導(dǎo)致航班停飛、世界進入封鎖狀態(tài)時，具有傳奇色彩的非洲狩獵之旅就結(jié)束了。

But for South African company WildEarth — which brings virtual safaris to your living room via a camera that their guides drive around in an open top vehicle — it is boom time.

但對于南非公司W(wǎng)ildEarth來說，這是一個繁榮的時期。該公司的導(dǎo)游駕駛一輛敞篷汽車，通過攝像頭將虛擬狩獵之旅帶到你的客廳。

“We’ve seen a dramatic rise in our viewership of our live safaris,” founder Graham Wallington told Reuters. “A fivefold increase in the first two weeks in March.”

該網(wǎng)站創(chuàng)始人格雷厄姆•沃林頓告訴路透社:“我們的現(xiàn)場狩獵之旅的觀眾人數(shù)急劇上升。”“3月份的頭兩周增長了5倍。”

Wallington said they are currently attracting up to 3 million viewers a month, with an individual virtual safari hooking in as many as 200,000 at their most-watched.

沃林頓說，目前他們每個月能吸引了300萬名觀眾，其中一個虛擬游獵網(wǎng)站吸引了多達20萬名觀眾，是他們觀看人數(shù)最多的一次。

Twice a day, viewers can watch whatever animals the guides spot as they zoom around game reserves — they’ve filmed 200 spots across east and southern Africa since founding it in 2006. A 24-hour camera perched over a watering hole in South Africa’s Djuma Game Reserve also shows live images of whatever comes there to drink.

每天兩次，游客們可以看到導(dǎo)游們所看到的任何動物，當(dāng)他們在保護區(qū)附近快速移動時——自2006年導(dǎo)游們建立保護區(qū)以來，他們已經(jīng)在東非和南非拍攝了200個景點。在南非Djuma野生動物保護區(qū)的一個酒吧上方，一臺24小時不間斷運轉(zhuǎn)的攝像機也會實時顯示酒吧里的飲料。

Highlights include a pack of jackals and African wild dogs fighting over a kudu carcass, a leopard cub jumping out of a tree, a mother cheetah playing with her kids and close encounters with elephants, hippos, lions, baboons and giraffes.

影片的亮點包括一群豺狼和非洲野狗在爭奪一具kudu尸體，一只幼豹從樹上跳下來，一只母獵豹和她的孩子們玩耍，以及與大象、河馬、獅子、狒狒和長頸鹿的親密接觸。

In all, the guides narrate the trials of the animals as they follow them around.

總的來說，向?qū)儠敿?xì)講解那些他們跟著的動物。

The footage is free to access. WildEarth makes revenue from selling premium video to broadcasters, from merchandise and a small amount of advertising, Wallington said, declining to give figures on turnover.

視頻是免費的。沃靈頓說，WildEarth從向廣播公司出售優(yōu)質(zhì)視頻、商品和少量廣告中獲得收入，但他拒絕透露營收數(shù)據(jù)。

The main benefit for conservation efforts is that the videos are “making people fall in love with nature,” he said.

他說，保護工作的主要好處是，這些視頻“讓人們愛上了自然”。

“They start seeing those animals as individual beings. That is the moment that the viewer empathizes,” he said.

“他們開始把這些動物視為獨立的個體。那是觀眾感同身受的時刻，”他說。

Wallington said the crisis had created “a real opportunity for people to generate money by creating virtual experiences.”

沃靈頓說，這場疫情危機“為人們創(chuàng)造了一個通過虛擬體驗來賺錢的真正機會”。

From an environmental point of view, it also cuts back on carbon emitted by flights and could help popular spots, like East Africa’s Serengeti, recover from over-tourism.

從環(huán)境角度來看，它還可以減少航班排放的碳，并有助于像東非塞倫蓋蒂這樣的熱門景點從過度旅游中恢復(fù)過來。