“The zoo and I agreed that the Axis products made it much easier for us to set them up on the zoo’s system,” said Joe Rugowski, president of Digital Design Services, Inc. “They are plug-and-play easy, and they work.”
The Zoological Society of Milwaukee provides support for the Milwaukee County Zoo in southeastern Wisconsin. The zoo features a wide variety of animals including brown bears, jaguars and penguins. To expand its reach, the zoo wanted to stream live video of its most popular and charismatic animals. Yet, each animal enclosure was a unique environment due to the diversity of needs presented by different species. The zoo needed a flexible camera solution that could work in a range of habitats.
Solution
Digital Design Services, Inc., along with Axis partner Camera Corner Connecting Point, recommended Axis network cameras due to their easy, plug-and-play installation capabilities and versatile product line. Outdoor-ready AXIS P5512-E PTZ Dome Network Cameras were used in the low temperature penguin exhibit and high definition AXIS Q6035 PTZ Dome Network Cameras were used to give intimate HDTV-quality views of animals such as brown bears.
An AXIS M5014 PTZ Dome Network Camera was fitted with a custom underwater mount for an exhibit featuring local fish. The high degree of customization was made possible by Power over Ethernet features enabling the ability to plug directly into the network without additional hardware.
Result
The web-streams became a hit, and the zoo continues to bring more animals online. After a landing page was created, the zoo was averaging 24,000 views per month. Following the birth of two jaguar cubs, the zoo used the cameras to give fans a behind-the-scenes view of the first months of their lives. The jaguar stream received 100,000 views over two days following a newspaper article. Zookeepers also use the footage to help them monitor the animals remotely and discover critical information should an animal become sick or injured.
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Curling up on the couch with a tiger
The Milwaukee County Zoo is home to over 2,500 animals including tigers, lions, jaguars and bears on 200 acres in southeastern Wisconsin. To reach a wider audience, the zoo wanted to stream videos of their most charismatic animals on the web. “We wanted to bring the animals we have here to people at home or further away from our region who aren't able to attend,” said Dominic Schanen, Director of Technology and Membership Services. But with a variety of enclosure environments, the zoo needed a flexible camera solution to address a range of needs. Based on past experience, Digital Design Services, Inc. knew the ease of installation offered by Axis network cameras would be the perfect fit.
“The zoo and I agreed that the Axis products made it much easier for us to set them up on the zoo's system,” said Joe Rugowski, president of Digital Design Services, Inc. “They are plug-and-play easy, and they work.”
Up a pole, underwater and in the cold
The ease-of-install features allowed Digital Design Services, Inc. to design custom mounts and enclosures to meet the unique requirements of each animal holding area. To stream video of local fish from the “Lake Wisconsin” exhibit, Digital Design Services, Inc. engineered a custom underwater enclosure for an HDTV 720p-quality AXIS M5014 PTZ Dome Network Camera. They selected outdoor-ready AXIS P5512-E PTZ Dome Network Cameras for the chilly Gentoo and Rockhopper penguin exhibit because the construction could withstand the constant 40 degree temperatures. For the brown bear exhibit, the zoo wanted a crisp, intimate view of the massive animals, so Digital Design Services, Inc. attached an HDTV 1080pquality AXIS Q6035 PTZ Dome Network Camera onto a ten-foot high steel pole at the edge of the exhibit. “We mounted the camera so that we are looking almost into the eye of the bear,” Rugowski said. The various feeds are connected to a Dell PowerEdge 2900 rack mount server by fiber through Cisco 3500-CG switches. They also use Ubiquiti wireless access points to connect to the polar bear camera. For streaming, they push the video out to a Dell PowerEdge 2950 server running streaming software.
Keeping watch after dark
The Zoo uses AXIS Camera Station software to record on motion detection, and footage is saved for two weeks. Zookeepers often use this footage as a resource to monitor the animals or verify incidents. The cameras also perform well in low-light situations, so zookeepers can check in with their charges at night. “I've been surprised by the zoo's interest in using it more as a monitoring device to remotely observe the animals' behavior,” Schanen said. The zoo also utilizes cameras for security purposes.
Jaguar cubs meet the world
The most popular web channel they opened documented the birth and development of a pair of jaguar cubs. When the feed went live, the cubs were not ready to be put on public view, so the web streams provided a rare behind-the-scenes look at the first months of their lives. Following a news article, the live stream received nearly 100,000 views in a two day period. To deepen the connection with fans, the zoo added a link to an online store with a list of toys and enrichment items for the cubs. The zoo then placed purchased items in the enclosure, so the buyers could see the cubs play with their new gifts.
In the two years since their launch, the streams have become a web hit. The zoo is averaging 24,000 views per month, and they continue to open up new channels on a regular basis.
“We get a lot of feedback with people saying, ‘Thank you for providing the cameras and allowing us to be able to view these animals at home,'” Schanen said.