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An image displayed on Google Street View from Kweneng, Botswana, is interpreted by some as showing a donkey that had been struck by the Google vehicle. (Google / January 15, 2013) |
A scene captured by a Google Street View vehicle in Kweneng, Botswana, that went viral Monday seems to show the car hitting and possibly killing a donkey on the road.
The scene is still visible on Google Street View: The Google vehicle appears to come up upon a standing donkey before knocking it over.
But Google has a different version of the incident and insists the animal is fine.
"Our Street View teams take the safety of people and donkeys very seriously," Google said in a statement. "A review of our imagery confirms that we did not cause any harm to the donkey."
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To prove its innocence, Google provided Australian news website News.com.au with additional images captured by the Streetview vehicle. Google, however, did not give the news website permission to publish the images.
According to the News.com.au report, Google says its car drove up to the donkey while it was lying on the dirt road, and as the vehicle got close, the animal got up and walked away.
The scene that has gone viral shows it in reverse, making it look like the car struck the donkey before the animal is shown on the ground, Google contends.
But the Australian website's technology editor, Claire Porter, who reviewed the images, said the pictures and Google's story don't quite add up.
"The problem with this version of events is that — based on the images — it appears as though the donkey is walking backward," she said. "This version of events seems to make no earthly sense."
To further make her point, Porter quotes Roger Short, a zoology professor from Melbourne University, who insists donkeys don't walk backward.
And that's been enough for some on the Web to continue sharing the story and question Google's innocence.
"Do no evil, unless it’s a donkey," one user on Tumblr posted, linking to an article. "Apparently this donkey sacrificed his life so we can have Google Street View."
But in all likelihood, Google is telling the truth, and there's a few reasons why.
As some on Reddit have pointed out, the donkey probably was lying on the road, giving itself a dust bath, a grooming behavior in many animals in which they roll around on the ground in sand or dirt. You can see videos of other donkeys doing it on YouTube.
Another item that support's Google's story is Botswana's driving practices. In that country, you drive on the left side of the road, which would match up with Google's story.
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