Slogan Surprisingly Human. Language English | Country United States | |
Launched April 1, 2013 (2013-04-01) Owned by Discovery Communications Headquarters Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | ||
Animal Planet L!VE is an online content channel created by Animal Planet and Discovery Communications that shows 24/7 live coverage of animals. It features 22 Internet-only channels dedicated to specific animals. Of all of the cams, 13 are operated and maintained by Animal Planet L!VE, six by Explore.org, one by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, one by Africam, one by the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Its home page is www.apl.tv.
Contents
History
Animal Planet President and General Manager Marjorie Kaplan stated, “Our success with Animal Planet on TV has been due in large part to listening closely to our audience. Their overwhelming response to Puppy Bowl and our Puppy and Kitten Cams led us straight to Animal Planet L!VE.” Some media outlets describe the venture as a new-wave of entertainment known as “ambient entertainment.”
Cam locations
Each of the live channels has an affiliation with one or more partners to house and maintain the cams.
The Ant Cam and Cockroach Cam are located at the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Ant Cam shows leaf cutter ants carrying leaf pieces back to the colony, whereas the Cockroach Cam highlights a miniaturized kitchen filled with cockroaches. These cams are operated and maintained by Animal Planet L!VE.
The Calf Cam and Chick Cam are located at the South Mountain Creamery in Middletown, Maryland. The calves are dairy calves which at the right age will begin producing milk to be processed and distributed. The chicks at the correct age will produce eggs to be processed and distributed. These cams are operated and maintained by Animal Planet L!VE.
The Cicada Cam shows a terrarium full of cicadas which climb over a model of the United States Capitol. Because of their short life-cycle, it is documented that a fresh batch must be added every day to keep the cam active. This cam is operated and maintained by Animal Planet L!VE in partnership with the Science Channel. This cam has since retired.
The Clownfish Cam displays an aquatic tank with various fish and coral. The predominant fish are clownfish as well as blue tang. It has been said the tank is to resemble the main characters of Disney's Finding Nemo. This cam is located at Acrylic Tank Manufacturing, home to Animal Planet's show Tanked. This cam is operated and maintained by Animal Planet L!VE.
The Kitten Cam and Puppy Cam are located at the Washington Animal and Rescue League in Washington, D.C. Once they reach a certain age and meet certain criteria the animals are then open for adoption, and a new set of kittens and puppies are featured on the channels. These cams are operated and maintained by Animal Planet L!VE.
Also in New Orleans, Louisiana the Penguin Cam show the African penguin species in an exhibit located at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. The penguins wear bracelets as identification. In addition, the Parakeet Cam displays a wide variety of colored parakeets inside of a walk-around greenhouse. Visitors can hold sticks in an attempt for the parakeets to land on them. These cams operated and maintained by Animal Planet L!VE.
The Tamarin Cam is located in Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. This cam has two separate feeds: one that shows the golden lion tamarins in their sleeping quarters as well as an additional camera located out in the main facility. They are often quite hard to catch on screen for long, as they move around from branch to branch extremely quickly. This cam is operated and maintained by Animal Planet L!VE.
Wild Bird Cam is a bird-feeder camera located in scenic Northern Virginia. Modifications of the cam can be observed in an attempt to curb the greckle and mourning dove population. The cam is operated and maintained by Animal Planet L!VE.
The Pacific Reef Cam is located at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland as a part of their North Atlantic to the Pacific Gallery. The cam features a variety of species of fish, as well as a diverse coral population. The cam is operated and maintained by the National Aquarium.
Also at the National Aquarium is the Sea Turtle Cam. This cam shows often shows a sea turtle by the name of Calypso swimming gingerly around the area. This particular sea turtle sports only three flippers, but can still get around quite easily. This cam is operated and maintained by the National Aquarium.
One last camera at the National Aquarium is the Shark Cam. As a part of the newly renovated Blacktip Reef exhibit, this cam was featured on Discovery Channel's Shark Week as divers took questions from an online audience. This cam is operated and maintained by Discovery Channel.
The Black Eagle Cam shows a black eagle's nest embedded in a 164-foot high cliff. Located in Johannesburg, South Africa, this cam is operated and maintained by Africam.
The Bee Cam is located in Germany's Bavaria Region. Shot by an infrared camera, viewers can see thousands of honey bees collecting honey for their colony. This cam is operated and maintained by Explore.org.
The Bison Cam is located at the Grasslands National Park in Canada. The bison are naturally free-roaming inside of the park which allow other animals to be shown on the cam as well. This cam is operated and maintained by explore.org. This cam has since been retired.
The Blue Cavern Cam is located at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. Also operated and maintained by explore.org, Blue Cavern Cam features a large kelp bed along with a diverse fish population.
The Brown Bear Cam is located in Alaska's Katmai National Park. Multiple brown bears can be seen stationed at the downfall of a river waiting to feast on sockeye salmon. It is documented that over 100 brown bears converge to this location to feast. This cam is operated and maintained by explore.org, the philanthropic media arm of the Annenberg Foundation.
The Panda Cam is located at the Binfengxia Panda Base, in China. Featuring the famous panda Wu Gang, this cam is operated and maintained by explore.org.
The Puffin Cam is located on Seal Island, Maine. In a rocky cliff edge, a puffin couple can be seen raising a baby puffin in the nest. This cam is operated and maintained by explore.org, the philanthropic media arm of the Annenberg Foundation at Audubon. This cam has since been retired.
The Osprey Cam show ospreys Rachel and Steve above a 30-foot tower located at the Audubon Camp on Hog Island. The osprey couple return to this same nest every year. Two baby osprey can be found in the nest. This cam is operated and maintained by explore.org.
Explore.org is a non-profit organization which has over 50 additional cams around the world. According to media advisor Jason Damata from Explore.org the cams are “purely to inspire people to fall in love with the world again and give them a break.”
The Great Blue Heron Cam is hosted, maintained, and operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York. The blue heron's have nested and hatched numerous young inside of their nest since 2009. This cam has since retired.
Platforms
At launch Animal Planet L!VE was accessed through their main website www.apl.tv on computers, tablets, and smartphones. On April 4, 2013 Samsung launched an app which could navigate the Animal Planet L!VE channels on select Smart TV’s and Blu-Ray Players. Other media devises, including Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Roku players are implementing their own app in the future.
Reception
Brian Stelter of The New York Times has reported that the Kitten Cam has been watched over 25 million times since its start. Stelter also reports that viewers watch the cam for an average of 18 minutes and 50 seconds. Discovery Chief Digital Officer JB Perrette states, “It’s proven that people watch this stuff and can’t get enough of it, frankly.”