South Africans may yet have a white Christmas - if they choose to log on to wildlife Web cam site, Africam.co.za. AfriCam has teamed up with NationalGeographic.com to broadcast live streaming video of polar bears in their natural icy environment in Churchill, Manitoba, in central Canada.
Viewers also stand a good chance of glimpsing red fox, Arctic hare, caribou and even the odd wolf. The site has been live for two weeks.
"Very few people in the world will be privileged enough to see polar bears live and wild, but through the use of technology, anybody with an Internet connection can share in this special experience," says Peter Armitage, CEO of AfriCam.
The camera, which is operated 24-hours-a-day, is situated in the Hudson Bay area, which marks the southernmost distribution of the polar bear.
"National Geographic delivers adventure and exploration at the click of the mouse," says Mitchell Praver, president of Nationalgeographic.com. "Transporting site visitors from their desktop halfway across the world to watch the natural drama of arctic wildlife as it unfolds live is an adventure."
This is the 19th camera and latest addition to the AfriCam line-up. Other cameras include shark cam and wreck cam, safari cams, waterhole cams (in Etosha, Namibia) and speciality cameras such as the Wahlbergs eagle cam trained on a nesting pair high up in a tree.
"This is our first venture north of the Equator, and indeed across the Atlantic," says Armitage. "It provides daylight viewing for Americans, and South Africans can now log on late at night and still see daylight in another part of the globe."
Armitage has indicated that live interviews will be conducted from Churchill by the middle of November. AfriCam is currently adding the finishing touches to its radio studio, where it will broadcast a talk radio service to accompany its broadcast content.
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