World-first: n-gage.io and zoolife announce technology partnership to bring zoos to the home.
The attraction management software and mobile visitor app, together with zoolife, integrate their technologies for a unique 24/7 insight into animal behaviour in zoos and wildlife parks to widen global conservation efforts.
In a world first of its kind, UK-based attraction management software, n-gage.io, and Canadian headquartered zoolife, the world’s first online zoo, have agreed a partnership that will see the live 24/7 zoo cameras that are user-controlled, accessed free of charge through the n-gage.io mobile visitor app. The partnership is set to now become a market leading visitor experience solution for zoos and wildlife parks in both the UK and overseas.
“We are delighted to partner with zoolife as it helps widen the conservation message and in this sector our goals are very much aligned,” says Bryan Hoare, CEO of Fame Media Tech, the developers behind the highly customisable n-gage.io software and mobile visitor app.
“The combination of n-gage.io and zoolife is unique and will provide the public, zoos, and wildlife establishments, as well as conservationists, and educators, with exceptional insights into animal behaviour. Importantly, access to wildlife animals up-close 24/7 through our app that is now gaining traction across the wildlife sector, also allows the audience to control their own observations, giving rise to non-curated real experiences that promote active participation and not just passive observance from visitors or users.”
n-gage.io launched its pioneering cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) attraction management software and mobile app, aimed at digitally transforming and enhancing experiences for the global attractions industry, in late 2021. Since then, it has welcomed clients across a variety of sectors, most notably a variety of zoos and wildlife parks.
Northumberland Zoo (NZ) in the North East of England, under the curatorship of Maxine Bradley, was one of the first zoos to pilot and adopt the n-gage.io software and app, which had more than 5000 downloads – not all of them local – in the first few months of launching. Bradley says the engagement platform is revolutionising how she and her team approach marketing, operations, and conservation education. According to Bradley, the app allows her ‘audience’ to interact with the content when and where they like, with the zoo being able to have direct engagement with them too.
Aside from direct communications, the software platform allows operators like Northumberland Zoo, to serve enriched content – perfect for conservation and education efforts, whilst the intuitive software that powers the highly customisable mobile app, has the capability to track audience behaviour and deliver valuable insights, allowing the zoo to segment their approach to making personalised communications even more targeted.
For app users, the zoolife integration augments the physical experience by encouraging visitors to get to know and observe the animals live, both before and after they visit, touching base to continue following them from anywhere, zoolife simply lets visitors take the zoo home! On days when animals may also be out of view on-site, the technology helps visitors to remain observant, getting a unique insight into their behaviour. The technology even allows users to record footage and take live camera shots to study later or share with the online community, further embracing conservation education.
Bradley’s Northumberland Zoo is the first zoo in the United Kingdom to join zoolife - installing its sophisticated technology that allows cameras to tilt, pan and record, and all controlled by users of the Northumberland Zoo app deployed by n-gage.io.
Commenting on the partnership with n-gage.io, Anna Hu, CEO of zoolife, said: “Not everyone has the means to go to the zoo as often as they’d like. Distance, weather, mobility, animals off display, can all become challenges to go to the zoo. With this partnership, we’re excited that beloved animals like the snow leopards and the racoons can now be visited by a worldwide audience every day of the week. We are on a mission to remove the largest barriers for animal lovers to rekindle a deeper connection between humankind and the world’s animals.
zoolife provides 4 billion animal lovers with access to wildlife animals up-close through live 24/7 cameras that users can control. zoolife donates 50% of any subscription to conservation and animal care - a subscription to zoolife provides access to watch hundreds of animals from more than 12 of the most ethical zoos around the world. Additionally, there are daily live talk shows with zookeepers and animal experts, where zoolife subscribers can chat live and directly ask any questions about the animals they are watching.
For zoolife, these are also the first cameras in the world that record the live interaction of racoons and were the first to capture the activities of snow leopards, although Toronto Zoo has since also joined the zoolife stream with their snow leopards.
Northumberland Zoo, will, however, shortly be the first zoo in the world to have an in-app controllable zoolife webcam of the extremely rare Livingstone Fruit Bat, of which NZ has 13 of the known 100 that are left on the planet.
To download the Northumberland Zoo n-gage.io app, look out for Northumberland Zoo on the app stores.