Google now allows animals to take selfies. It seems questionable, but it’s true. The search giant and the Los Angeles Zoo have set up cameras in the zoo to enable photogenic animals to take selfies.
Google installs motion sensor cameras
According to Oxford Dictionaries, a selfie is a “photograph that one has taken of oneself typically with a smartphone or webcam, and uploaded to a social media website.” So technically, the animals will be taking selfies.
To help the animals take good photos, Google has installed high-tech cameras in animal enclosures all over the Los Angeles Zoo. Cameras equipped with motion sensors can automatically snap pictures as soon as the animal comes within a certain range. Pictures of a tiger, warthog, sloth and a few others have been clicked by the high-tech cameras so far.
This project is inspired by the new Walt Disney Animation Studios film Zootopia and can be seen as a promotion campaign for the new Disney movie. The project’s organizers hope the animal photos will help Disney Animation Studios sell more tickets for Zootopia, which was released Friday. The L.A. Zoo Association is also hoping it will bring more people out to visit the animals at the zoo.
Animals do not mind the cameras
There have been no negative episode so far, and curious animals do not mind the cameras installed in their enclosures. Many pictures snapped by the cameras include a sloth looking laid back, a tiger inspecting the device, a hog giving a stylish pose, and a giraffe sniffing the camera. You can see all the images captured so far in the Zoogle Selfies shared Photos folder.
In 2014 during a jungle trip, British photographer David Slater’s camera was swiped by a monkey, which took its own true selfie. The incident became the subject of a heated copyright debate. Ars Technica reported that the controversy resulted in the U.S. Copyright Office ruling that a “photograph taken by a monkey” cannot be copyrighted.
In related news, Google is now in talks with several local telecom operators to start its ambitious Loon project in India. Loon aims at providing Internet access to remote parts of the country.
