Kruger National Park, South Africa - December 6, 2023 : Kruger statue at Kruger Gate entrance to Kruger National Park, South Africa. One of the founders of wildlife presevation in Africa.
Mischief-makers may be behind the renaming of Kruger National Park on Google Maps to Skukuza National Park.
The search engine has been vague about what happened but its Maps function allows users to suggest changes… and this may have been what happened.
Google South Africa spokesperson Siya Madikane said Google has now “protected” the listing on Google Maps for the Kruger National Park feature and updated relevant teams to take the necessary action for now.
Google corrected the false renaming of Kruger National Park
“Legally, only the minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment can change a national park’s name and no such change has been gazetted for Kruger,” Madikane said.
The Citizen went onto Google Maps after the row last week over the name change and tried to again insert the name “Skukuza National Park” on the geographical location of the Skukuza rest camp in Kruger.
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Google allows edits to be made to its maps but claims these are vetted by the search engine’s staff. Despite repeated requests for more information on exactly what happened, Google did not respond.
Whoever made the edit on Google Maps to change the name to Skukuza National Park also managed to link it to the official website of SA National Parks.
That is what got civil society group AfriForum hot under the collar last week.
Pranksters sparked national outrage
If anyone edits Google Maps, Google should have a record of who that person, or organisation, is, from their IP (internet protocol) address.
AfriForum environmental affairs advisor Marais de Vaal said AfriForum would take action to correct “misleading information” on Google Maps.
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In September, the Mpumalanga legislature proposed a motion to rename Kruger National Park without notice, which was quickly adopted.
De Vaal said that no notice has been published in the Government Gazette to change the name, meaning that Kruger National Park remains the park’s only lawful and official name.
“We strongly oppose the reckless and politically motivated attempt to rename Kruger National Park,” De Vaal said.
Changing name would erase shared history – AfriForum
“Changing its name would erase a part of our shared history, harm one of South Africa’s most valuable tourism brands and undermine the rule of law.
“The process for any name change is clearly set out in legislation, and no such process has been followed.”
The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment has confirmed that no name change has been authorised for the park.
Department spokesperson Thobile Zulu-Molobi said the official name remains Kruger National Park, “as enshrined in law”.
“Those spreading misinformation are urged to refrain from doing so immediately.
Misinformation
“The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment clarifies that there has been no amendment to the name of the Kruger National Park under Section 20 of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act 57 of 2003.
“No notice has been published in the Government Gazette to alter the name and no such change has been approved by the minister. The park remains legally and officially Kruger National Park,” Zulu-Molobi said.
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Minister Dion George said there are no applications to change the park’s name.
“There is nothing in progress to change the name of Kruger National Park and I certainly have no intention of approving any request,” he said.
According to the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, only the minister has the legal authority to assign or amend the name of a national park.
Renaming would have consequences for tourism
North-West University tourism research unit head professor Elmarie Slabbert warned renaming the park would have consequences for tourism.
“Kruger is arguably one of the most famous wildlife brands in the world,” she said.
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