Google's Street View Trekker cameras just got a bit of a lift.
Since 2012, Google has been letting users explore landmarks like the Grand Canyon 0r the Taj Mahal that are only accessible by foot via the Trekker, a backpack with a green soccer-ball-like camera at the top that captures panoramic images we're used to seeing on Street View.
The Trekkers are usually loaned out and attached to humans. But a 10-year-old camel named Raffia just won the honor of being the first four-legged creature to add to Street View's contributor roster.
Raffia and a guide walked through the Liwa Desert, a 100-kilometer-wide stretch of desert to the south west of the city of Abu Dhabi.
It's unclear why Google couldn't have done this with a person -- in fact, in photos from the UAE's The National, it looks like they did. But Google's not going to pass up the chance to do something with extra flair, especially when it has the coffers to fund it.
A Google spokeswoman told The National they used a camel for authenticity, using the desert's ancient mode of transport -- with a decidedly anachronistic camera strapped to its hump. An Indian guide walked the camel from as early as 6 a.m. to photograph the area during the best lighting conditions, the spokeswoman told the paper.
