Wild Africa:
Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Tarangire

Sumeria

Review by Katherine Harrison

I remember standing beneath a dome of deep red sky. A gnarled lone tree reached towards the heavens, and gazelle moved with gentle steps across the earth. But amid this beatific scene, a lioness stalked an unsuspecting wildebeest in the loose, light-flecked grass while I, awestruck, bore witness to it all.

It would take a powerful CD-ROM to capture the ineffable beauty of that place, but Wild Africa succeeds in doing just that. This CD-ROM guides the viewer on a far less dusty and dangerous safari through the Ngorongoro, Serengeti, and Tarangire parks of Tanzania.

Among other features, the CD-ROM offers more than 60 minutes of video, over 250 full-screen photographs, a visual tour of more than 75 species, interactive maps, and a field guide. Upon entering, you may take one of three paths: Visual Tour, Locations, or Field Guide.

On the Visual Tour, you can explore the disparate terrain of Tanzania's parks, including its forests and grasslands. Locations gives you the opportunity to orient yourself with a basic map of Tanzania and then journey deeper into the park of your choice and the regions within it. Field Guide allows you to learn about the living things of Africa in greater detail. Divided into plants, animals, and birds, this area provides facts about, and photographs of, the natural world. Haven't you ever wondered how a Thomson's gazelle differs from a Grant's gazelle? And what is the name of that hedgehog-looking creature who is the elephant's ancestor? Wild Africa answered many of the questions that have vexed me over the years.

Export functions enable you to reuse the photographs and movies to create a custom slideshow. Though the videos move more with the awkward gait of the hyena rather than the graceful stride of the cheetah, I cannot stress enough the superb quality of the photographs.

Wild Africa is an excellent educational tool for students of all ages, for those planning a safari, or for anyone interested in Africa and its wildlife. Greater than all of the information contained on the CD-ROM, however, is the message it conveys: if humans do not exhibit more respect for the environment, wildlife will live only on the screen rather than flourish upon the earth.

For PC: IBM compatible with 33MHz 486 processor, 8MB RAM, DOS 5.0, Windows 3.1, VGA+display (256 colors) at 640 by 480 resolution, sound card, double-speed CD-ROM drive recommended

For MAC: System 7.0, 6 MB RAM, 13-inch monitor (256 colors), double-speed CD-ROM drive recommended