In 2006, Sita, a rare, 16 year-old, black rhinoceros living in Paignton Zoo, England became pregnant. The birth of a baby black rhino in captivity is an extremely rare event and something that has never been filmed before.
The Zoo obviously realised the huge PR potential surrounding the event, not only providing the opportunity to generate specific awareness for the birth but also for Paignton Zoo as a whole.
Solution
In Jan 2007 an Internet camera was installed in Sita's enclosure. With 24 hour coverage, utilising an infra-red night time facility, delayed video action footage was streamed direct to the BBC Devon website. With a short time window, installation needed to be facilitated quickly and effectively.
Within 2 weeks of first being ordered the cameras were up and running, with no downtime, for the duration of the pregnancy and birth.
Results
Over 90,000 global download requests per day with some users admitting to being "addicted to their daily dose of rhino action."
One American website visitor wrote:
"Although I live in the USA, I've been enthralled with the progress of Sita. I am so grateful that you have provided the webcam".
On the day following the birth, the rhino cam stream was the most popular BBC on-demand content anywhere in the world! Subsequently, the webcam installation proved to be so effective that upgrades have taken place, providing a window to the world for activities at the zoo, generating countless PR and marketing opportunities.
