The Eagle Cam is the latest craze for animal lovers: you can
watch adorable eaglets on the
Decorah Eagle Cam and the
Richmond Eagle Cam. The
videos are actually very cute and educational. But have we grown so far apart
from nature that watching a live video stream is more exciting than going
outside and witnessing the same things with our own eyes?
Judging by the success of these eagle cams, there is a real
audience for this kind of content. I also remember seeing other live cams following
bears or tiger cubs. Why are baby animals so popular on the internet? Besides
the ‘aww’ factor, these live cams might actually help people feel connected to
nature. Will these cams replace zoos in the future? I would not be surprised if
we could have access to hundreds of different live cams to observe different
animals in a semi-natural habitat. Most zoos would probably benefit from
extending their activities to the internet since a lot of people are willing to
sit in front of their computers and spend a few minutes looking at cute animals
instead of driving to the zoo and making a day of it.
In a way, these live videos allow us to observe animals
behaving almost naturally instead of seeing them in cages but I don’t think
these cams replace a real trip to the zoo. I remember that throwing food at the
monkeys or trying to touch them was a big part of the zoo experience for a
young child, a contact that is lost with the live video stream.
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