latimes.com

Google Inc. has posted images taken by one of its Street View cars in Kweneng, Botswana, to further prove that its vehicle did not hit a donkey.

A Street View image of a donkey on the side of a dirt road went viral this week, prompting viewers to question whether Google's vehicle had hurt the animal. 

The Mountain View, Calif., company issued a statement saying its vehicle did not run over the animal, but that didn't satisfy conspiracy theorists. Their doubts seem to have prompted Google to release evidence to back up its story.

PHOTOS: Tech we want to see in 2013

"As our imagery below shows, the donkey was lying in the path -- perhaps enjoying a dust bath -- before moving safely aside as our car drove past. I’m pleased to confirm the donkey is alive and well," said Kei Kawa, a group project manager for Google Maps. 

The new pictures, posted on the Google Maps blog under the title "Never ass-ume," show an extended view of the incident as it took place. Unlike those on Google Maps, these pictures also show parts of the Street View car, and the vehicle doesn't come close to touching the donkey in any of the pictures.

The images, somewhat reminding us of the famed Zapruder film of the Kennedy assasination, seems to make it pretty clear Google did not hit the donkey.

But one part of the mystery still remains: Why was the donkey lying on the ground?

Google, and others online, speculate the donkey was taking a dust bath, which is when an animal rolls around dirt or sand to groom itself.

But as a few Times readers have pointed out, that might not be the case. If you follow the Street View path far enough from the donkey, you can see that a second vehicle passed by the animal before Google's even got close to it.

In those shots, it appears the donkey was standing up until the other vehicle zoomed past it, raising quite a bit of dust. Was the animal knocked over or did it decide to take a dust bath?

ALSO:

Twitter now highlights handles, hashtags as user types them in

Google denies Street View car ran over donkey, adds to intrigue