The San Diego Zoo’s Veterinary Services Department is excited about a new tool that is helping us improve animal care at the hospital around the clock. We have installed a camera system that allows us to watch animals from our computers and special monitors at any time. The system also has a server that stores video footage, allowing us to review archival video of animal activity that takes place while we are not working. This provides us with very important information and also answers some very basic questions:Is the animal eating after we leave at night?

How active is the animal?

Are there behaviors displayed that should concern us?

Can the animal stand, walk, fly, etc?

If housed with other animals, how do they interact with each other?

Are they interacting with their enrichment?
Currently, we have nine ceiling and track-mounted cameras. The cameras that are mounted on a track allow the keepers to slide the camera from one end of a room to another. This gives us more options for viewing in rooms with more than one cage. The benefits of this camera system in an animal care facility are numerous. With these cameras, we are able to pan, zoom, use a motion detector, and utilize many other options to further the quality of care that we provide for all of our animals. We can observe animals when they reach a critical point in recovery from procedures where anesthesia or sedation without “spooking” them with our presence. We can even determine how well an animal is eating or how often it eats. We have found that some applications are opportunistically discovered. For example, we recently weighed a L’Hoest’s guenon that was staying at the hospital with the help of the new camera system. Because we had difficulty getting the animal to sit on a scale while keepers were present, we positioned the scale bars under a crate, placed some food on top of the crate, and set the scale reader outside the cage. We focused the camera on the reader and crate and were able to leave the room, go to our monitor, and record the weight without the monkey ever knowing we had done so (see image above). Another benefit is that we are also able to witness surgical procedures without having to “gown-up” and enter a sterile environment. This allows visitors and animal care staff to watch a procedure that they otherwise would not be able to view.

We are in the process of installing more cameras at the hospital. As we install more, we will undoubtedly discover new ways to improve our animal care. It is exciting to know that the applications for this new tool are as endless as our imaginations allow!

Bob Cisneros is a senior hospital keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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