The Challenge
Orana Wildlife Park is Aotearoa’s only open range zoo, home to over 1,000 animals from 90 species — including the country’s only gorillas. At the heart of the park’s gorilla management is the Great Ape Centre (GAC), where 15 CCTV cameras feed screens in keeper areas, allowing staff to safely operate hydraulic slides to move animals between spaces. When the existing camera system failed and began showing alarming lag between cameras and display screens, it became both an animal management problem and a genuine safety concern.
Teltrac worked alongside the park’s contracted IT provider GlobalPC to diagnose the root cause of the lag. The issue was traced to the system browsing to the Ubiquiti NVR across a wireless bridge — a configuration that compounded latency and made real-time viewing impossible. For keepers managing large primates through hydraulic systems, any delay between camera and screen is unacceptable. A purpose-designed replacement was needed that would eliminate lag entirely and deliver true live-view performance.
The Solution
After extensive on-site testing — including an unsuccessful attempt to connect the old cameras to open-source software — Teltrac recommended a full system replacement. The solution paired new Hikvision cameras (consistent with the park’s existing PTZ cameras that were already performing well) with an NX Witness VMS server and a dedicated Wisenet decoder behind each screen. This architecture eliminated the wireless bridge entirely, delivering a direct, low-latency feed to every keeper display.
Key Elements
- 15 new Hikvision 4K cameras replacing the failed legacy system throughout the GAC
- NX Witness VMS server and software managing all camera streams from a single platform
- Wisenet decoder installed behind each keeper display screen for true real-time live view with zero lag
- New display monitors installed in keeper areas
- Outdoor cameras previously managed on separate software consolidated into NX Witness alongside all indoor cameras
Why This Solution
- Dedicated Wisenet decoders pull camera streams directly to each display screen, bypassing the wireless bridge that caused the original lag — delivering true real-time live view for keeper safety
- Hikvision 4K cameras offer wider field of view and sharper imagery than the previous system — in some areas eliminating the need for additional cameras that were previously being considered
- NX Witness is an open-platform VMS with superior remote viewing, playback, and ease of use — and its open-source architecture means any future cameras can be added to the same system without a platform change
- Standardising on Hikvision across the GAC (aligned with the park’s existing PTZ cameras) simplifies ongoing maintenance and spare parts management
- Consolidating indoor and outdoor cameras into a single NX Witness platform gives keepers a unified view of all GAC areas from one interface
Installation
The full system was installed over one week prior to the July school holidays — a deliberate scheduling choice to minimise disruption during one of the park’s busiest visitor periods. Teltrac worked closely with Orana’s team and GlobalPC throughout, ensuring all 15 cameras, the NX Witness server, Wisenet decoders, and new display screens were installed, configured, and fully operational before the holidays began.
Outcome
The new system has been a significant improvement on every front. Lag is completely eliminated — keepers now see true real-time footage on every screen, restoring confidence in the system for safe animal management. The new 4K Hikvision cameras deliver crystal-clear imagery with a wider field of view, meaning the park no longer needs to add an extra camera in the siamang indoor day room as previously planned. All GAC cameras — indoor and outdoor — are now managed through a single NX Witness interface.
Orana Wildlife Park operates as a charitable trust, raising 100% of its own funding for capital improvements. This project was made possible through the generous support of the Kiwi Gaming Foundation, whose funding enabled the critical infrastructure upgrade to proceed. Teltrac is proud and honoured to have played a part in supporting the park’s conservation mission.
Project Partners