The Akron Zoo went high-tech a few years ago by installing cameras inside several dangerous animal habitats to get a better view of what was occurring behind the scenes. Recently, zoo officials upgraded that technology to get instant access to what goes on 24 hours a day, seven days a week — simply by launching an application on their BlackBerry mobile phones.
Milestone System’s MobileCam Viewer software system keeps handlers, veterinarians and the zoo’s 700 animals safer, said Legends of the Wild curator Jim Metzinger. The system lets keepers see what’s going on behind closed doors before they enter a room housing zoo residents, Metzinger said.
“It gives the keepers who go into dangerous animal areas the ability to know who is there and where they are before they enter the room. Since we’ve upgraded, it allows us to watch it more closely,” said Metzinger, an Aurora resident who has been with the Akron Zoo since 2005.
Video surveillance is a practical means to monitor animal health and behavior. It is especially effective in the zoo’s large cat habitat that is home to jaguars and snow leopards, he said.
“If something happened during the day, I would monitor [the animal] more closely,” he said. “The BlackBerry allows me to see them when I’m at home. It’s always in my pocket,” he said.
The cameras, set up in 15 rooms that house the zoo’s most dangerous animals and a hospital holding room, give personnel wireless remote access to monitor animals while away from the zoo or a computer.
Fifteen zoo employees, including curators responsible for day-to-day operations in different areas of the zoo and the zoo’s veterinarian staff, have access to the protected application that is not available to the general public, said David Barnhardt, director of marketing and guest services at the zoo.
Relayed video streams go out “in a second — much faster,” said Barnhardt, snapping his fingers for emphasis.
Videos from 10 cameras, set up in separate snow leopard cages and a “cubbing” room (where females give birth), are streamed to a 52-inch television mounted on the wall in the zoo’s Meso-American kitchen, where food is prepared for the Legends of the Wild animals.
All peculiar behavior exhibited by the cats is relayed to the curator and the zoo veterinarian, said Sandy Buckner, animal keeper for the exhibit.
“We have upward of 20 species here,” said Buckner, who is responsible for diet preparation, stimulation through enrichment activities, cleaning and monitoring the animals.
“We use species-specific enrichment activities to try to keep it different for them every day. We want to keep everyone stimulated. A cat laying around can stimulate undesired behaviors,” she said.
A zoom lens even allows Metzinger to get close enough to see “the writing on a quarter,” he said. That option allows animal caretakers to monitor an animal’s breathing or, in the case of a cat giving birth, see her contractions in real time. The video can be stored for about a week, or longer, if necessary, he said.
At least three people are monitoring the cats at any given time because they sometimes interact with each other and not always in a good way, he said.
“The whole intent of this is not to allow those situations to happen,” Metzinger said.
Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.
