Emma Kenly from ZSL takes up the story: "We required electronic surveillance to monitor the staged introduction of a new male gorilla into the group and to oversee pregnant female gorilla Mjukuu through the later stages of her pregnancy and birth of her baby."

Having previously provided camera networks to oversee animals at ZSL's Whipsnade Zoo, MJ Security Systems was once again enlisted to provide a camera installation at the London Zoo site. Mick James, Managing Director of MJ Security Systems explains: "Our previous installations at Whipsnade included camera systems designed for the zoo's elephant, lion and rhino enclosures. Using this invaluable experience, we installed a system in the unique surroundings of London Zoo's Gorilla enclosure.
"After technical liaison with ZSL staff, and the client seeing for themselves the resulting image quality from an effective mix of products, we specified Vista cameras, recorders and monitors."

After the successful product demonstration, MJ Security Systems installed Vista VPDL-5WP-P-C 22:1 VR D/N CLR cameras and Vista VIREL60-10-850 60deg 10m 12/24V Infra-Red lamps around the gorilla enclosure and activity area. These were strategically placed to capture images of the animals no matter where they ventured within the enclosure.

Connected to a Vista Quantum QP08-1000f 8-channel 1Tb FSK 400ips DVR, images from each camera are displayed on 15" LCD VGA monitors and controlled via the latest high-performance Vista VKBD4 3 Axis Control Keyboard. The system enables the zoo's keepers to view all aspects of the gorilla's behaviour, an advantage that proved vital in the integration of the new male, in addition to capturing important images of the birth of the new addition.

"When it came to monitoring Mjukuu through the critical moments of the birth, our keepers were able to ensure all went well, without any direct interference," says Emma. "Thanks to the quality of the CCTV system, we were able to capture detailed footage of a gorilla birth - something that has rarely been seen before and that has proved vital in furthering our understanding of these complex animals."

Video footage of the birth derived from the Vista end-to-end system has been distributed across the world, to assist other zoos in successful breeding programmes. Illustrating the quality of the video images, footage from the Vista based solution has also been included in a BBC documentary series.