Zoo Geo - zoos in Google Maps / Google Earth

I'm happy to announce a new feature for ZooBeat - Zoo Geo.

I want to create a database of zoos from around the world that show satellite images of the zoo and highlight the important features such as key exhibits and other facilities.

It's early days yet - so there aren't many zoos listed to this point. I hope to fix that with your help over the coming months. See below for instructions on how you can contribute.

You can find the database here: Zoo Geo

Warning - the paint is still wet on that part of the site, so proceed with caution and let me know if you have any problems or suggestions!

The best example so far for labels is my entry for Taronga Zoo (not complete yet - but has a few placemarks so you can see what I'm doing) - Taronga Zoo

I also intend to add photos from the photo gallery to the placemarks so people can see what's there from ground level

 

How you can contribute

Note that these instructions are currently obsolete. I will be providing new instructions when the application is ready. In the meantime, you can contribute by sending me Google Maps links to your favourite zoos or Google Earth KMZ/KML files.

How to contribute to Zoo Geo on ZooBeat

A. Using Google Maps to create a new map:

1. First check there isn't a map in the system already -
2. Zoo Geo if so, go to B.
3. if you don't already have a Google account, create one - http://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount
4. go to Google Maps
5. sign in to Google if you haven't already done so
6. go to "My Maps"
7. click "Create new map"
8. Give your map a title - use the zoo name
9. navigate to find the zoo in Google maps
10. zoom in so that the zoo fills as much of the screen as possible
11. annotate key features (especially entrance gates) using placemarks
12. don't forget to save your map
13. Next either: a) Look for the "link to this page" option at the top right and copy the link - paste it into forum post; b) alternatively, send me a PM or email with a link; c) third alternative, click on the "View in Google Earth" link, and download the KML file to your computer, then attach it to your reply.
14. I will import your map and if necessary merge it with any existing map, then add it to the database.

B. Using Google Maps to add placemarks to an existing map

1. if you don't already have a Google account, create one - https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount
2. go to Google Maps
3. sign in to Google if you haven't already done so
4. go to "My Maps"
5. click "Create new map"
6. Click "Import"
7. Open a new browser window and find the map you want to edit in Zoo Geo
8. Copy the url of the link labelled "View in Google Earth" (right mouse click on the link and select "copy shortcut" or "copy link location")
9. Paste the URL into the "Import KML" window in Google Maps, where it asks "Or enter the url of map data on the web". An alternative to these last two steps is to download the KML file from ZooBeat and then upload it using the "Browse your computer to select map data to upload" option.
10. You should now have a new map with the existing placemarks and information, which you can edit.
11. Don't forget to save when you are done.
12. Next use one of the following three options to send me the changes: a) Look for the "link to this page" option at the top right and copy the link - paste it into a forum post; b) alternatively, send me a PM or email with a link; c) third alternative, click on the "View in Google Earth" link, and download the KML file to your computer, then attach it to your reply.
13. I will import your map and merge any changes with the existing map.

C. Using Google Earth

1. You must download and install Google Earth first - Google Earth
2. You can download a KML file for importing to Google Earth (or launch Google Earth directly) by clicking on the "View in Google Earth" link on any map in ZooBeat
3. Add placemarks in Google Earth and then export your changes to a KML or KMZ file by right clicking on the "place" and selecting "save as".
4. Send me the file or attach it to a forum post and I'll merge it into the maps

D. Helping with Database entries

I also need help with the database entries.

To suggest a new zoo to be added, please supply the following information:

• Official Zoo Name (plus local language version is applicable)
• Common name for zoo (if different to official zoo name)
• Country (and to be really helpful, you could add the 2-character ISO country code to save me looking it up!
• Official website URL
• Wikipedia URL if an entry for the zoo exists

E. Helping by locating suitable photos

I also want to add photos to the placemarks so people can see what is there from ground level. You can assist by finding suitable photos in the photo gallery and sending me a link to the photo.

If you are editing placemarks yourself, you can add photos too if you want.

In particular, I would like to see photos of the main zoo entrance.

 

Thanks - it's been a couple of days of pretty much non-stop coding so far (my wife is away visiting relatives - so I decided to see how much I could get done now).

Lots more to do still - there's hundreds of zoos out there!

 

Note that there are a couple of bugs I've discovered in Google Maps which are causing problems with my maps. I'll see if I can work around them - but don't be surprised if you have problems viewing the maps at the moment (either missing maps, or a "not authorised" error)

 

Okay - sorry for the premature announcement ... I've decided I don't like the bugs in Google Maps, so I'm going to change the way I'm doing things.

The upside is that this will give me much more control - I'm looking at building a system which allows our members to click on the map and mark key features of the zoo, which should make the whole process much easier and more interesting.

 

Right, I've modified the way I gather and display the data and it is much more reliable now, so Zoo Geo is now back online.

However, I have no longer got the ability to display placemarks on the maps - I still need to finish programming that function for the new system.

So for now, we just have satellite images of the zoos, and I will eventually be making it very easy for our members to highlight important features of the zoos by just clicking on the maps and adding comments - a bit more work needed first.

You can help by sending me Google Maps links to your favourite zoos - just find your zoo in Google Maps, then use the "Link to this page" to get the URL and send it to me or post it on the forums.

 

Thanks CZJimmy!

These have all been added to the database.

 

Can someone please check my map for Werribee Open Range Zoo

 

Thanks to those people who have sent me info on zoos - I'll spend some time over the next few days getting them into my database.

In the meantime, I've added overview maps to the first couple of pages showing where the zoos are on a world map (and region / country maps too).

 

Okay - I've got a lot of Australian, UK and Dutch zoos, but not a lot from anywhere else. Thanks particularly to CZJimmy and UntBwe for your help so far!

Anyone else care to give me a hand and send me google maps links or GPS coordinates for zoos in their region?