南非的“虚拟狩猎之旅”活跃在世界各地

南非的“虚拟狩猎之旅”活跃在世界各地

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.

大多数游客都想从很远的地方乘飞机前来观赏非洲的大型动物，所以当新型冠状病毒导致航班停飞、世界进入封锁状态时，具有传奇色彩的非洲狩猎之旅就结束了。

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.

但对于南非公司WildEarth来说，这是一个繁荣的时期。该公司的导游驾驶一辆敞篷汽车，通过摄像头将虚拟狩猎之旅带到你的客厅。

“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.”

该网站创始人格雷厄姆•沃林顿告诉路透社:“我们的现场狩猎之旅的观众人数急剧上升。”“3月份的头两周增长了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.

沃林顿说，目前他们每个月能吸引了300万名观众，其中一个虚拟游猎网站吸引了多达20万名观众，是他们观看人数最多的一次。

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.

每天两次，游客们可以看到导游们所看到的任何动物，当他们在保护区附近快速移动时——自2006年导游们建立保护区以来，他们已经在东非和南非拍摄了200个景点。在南非Djuma野生动物保护区的一个酒吧上方，一台24小时不间断运转的摄像机也会实时显示酒吧里的饮料。

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.

影片的亮点包括一群豺狼和非洲野狗在争夺一具kudu尸体，一只幼豹从树上跳下来，一只母猎豹和她的孩子们玩耍，以及与大象、河马、狮子、狒狒和长颈鹿的亲密接触。

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

总的来说，向导们会详细讲解那些他们跟着的动物。

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.

视频是免费的。沃灵顿说，WildEarth从向广播公司出售优质视频、商品和少量广告中获得收入，但他拒绝透露营收数据。

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

他说，保护工作的主要好处是，这些视频“让人们爱上了自然”。

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

“他们开始把这些动物视为独立的个体。那是观众感同身受的时刻，”他说。

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

沃灵顿说，这场疫情危机“为人们创造了一个通过虚拟体验来赚钱的真正机会”。

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.

从环境角度来看，它还可以减少航班排放的碳，并有助于像东非塞伦盖蒂这样的热门景点从过度旅游中恢复过来。