The Gaza Strip has been accused by the media and animal activists of once having the worst zoo in the world. Two years after the last of the living animals were saved and the controversial Khan Yunis zoo closed, Gaza residents will get to see rare animals through a new app called Virtual Zoo.
The Virtual Zoo app, which is available on Android phones and tablets, was developed by students of the faculty of information technology at the University of Palestine. It contains both domestic and wild animals, including ones that Gazans have not seen before, such as African elephants, polar bears and whales. The students used 3-D techniques that enable users to interact with animals in a forest and allow them to pretend to pet the animals, to touch the trees and discover new species.