Transcending Boundaries in Collaboration
Clearion connects Zoo Atlanta with the public to improve animal care.
For more than a decade, Clearion has helped infrastructure organizations, like power companies and DOTs, manage their construction and maintenance work using GIS. From the start, our customers focused on using map-based software to improve the challenging work of building and maintaining the electric grid, telecommunications networks, highways, and other critical infrastructure. These systems made this work better organized, more cost effective, and safer.
As these software systems matured, our customers increasingly looked outward for opportunities to leverage the technology to do more for the communities they served and to better the environment around their assets. A volunteer day at a community farm led to an innovative wood chip donation program, where Georgia Power routed its tree trimming crews to give farms and parks mulch when and where it was needed. (Read more here: Sustainability and Technology Connect )
With this discovery that GIS-based maintenance management software can help automate these community engagement programs, Georgia Power asked Clearion to assist with another program that routed freshly cut vegetation from the utility's tree trimming program to Zoo animals that promised to improve their diets.
A few years ago, Zoo Atlanta and Georgia Power connected to create an innovative new program for delivering woody stems and branches from vegetation management operations to help feed animals at Zoo Atlanta. These animals are classified as Browsers due to the volume and variety of plants they eat in the wild.
Georgia Power was happy to support this program, but the logistics were challenging. Originally, they coordinated between tree trimming crews and the Zoo's staff using phone calls and texts. It was crucial that the vegetation was fresh for the animals and equally important that all of the vegetation left for the zoo was cleared off of private land. The success of the wood chip donation program prompted Georgia Power to ask Clearion if they could help. Within a few weeks, the utility's trimming crews had updated software to track the 'browser' vegetation and the Zoo Atlanta staff also came online with the technology.
Innovative Technology Facilitates Animal Care
The 'Browsers' at Zoo Atlanta are herbivorous animals such as giraffes, zebras, and elephants. Because their diets are limited to plants, these animals need to consume large quantities of vegetation every day.
One of the Zoo's largest responsibilities is being able to provide a constant and reliable supply of food to meet the dietary requirements of their animals. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Georgia Power and Clearion, the Zoo now has access to an abundance of fresh, local vegetation which they can offer their herbivores.
Before Georgia Power's tree trimming crews are sent out, the Zoo sends a team of employees to locate plant species that are compatible with animals' diets. Using Clearion's map-based software, the Zoo can drop a pin at a site, specify which species they want to collect, and include instructions for Georgia Power contractors, streamlining the process. Once Georgia Power's crews have done their job, they use the same platform to notify the Zoo that the vegetation is ready for pickup.
A Zoo Atlanta employee installs vegetation in a Zoo habitat.
This map contains a few of the locations where the Zoo collects vegetation. You can interact with the map by zooming in or out or by clicking any of the icons: a pop-up will display what type of vegetation is available at that pickup site.
The icons are color-coded depending on each site's status. Click the button in the bottom-left corner of the map to see what the different colors mean.
Getting vegetation from local sources not only enriches the lives and diets of Zoo animals, but it simplifies the workload for animal caretakers and Zoo horticulturists as well.
Giant Pandas
Zoo Atlanta currently has four giant pandas. The two adults, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, have been a focal point at the Zoo ever since their arrival in 1999.
Native to the temperate forests of Southwestern China, giant pandas are a vulnerable species, with less than 2,000 currently living in the wild and approximately 600 in captivity.
Habitat loss is the primary threat to their survival. Fortunately, the giant panda's popularity around the world has helped it become the focus of successful conservation.
Despite being classified as carnivores, a giant panda's diet is actually much closer to that of herbivores. Their diet consists almost entirely of bamboo stalks, shoots, and leaves, which are very low in nutrients. Because of this, they have many unique adaptations for their low-energy lifestyle.
Fun fact: Pandas can spend up to 14 hours of their day eating!
The low nutrient value of bamboo and the panda's poor digestive efficiency means that pandas have very low metabolisms. This explains why giant pandas sleep so often, and why they need to eat such enormous amounts of bamboo.
Bamboo is essential for the health of our giant pandas. Over 90% of their diet is composed of bamboo. –Dr. Sam Rivera, DVM
Animal care professionals at Zoo Atlanta provide each giant panda about 80 pounds of various bamboo species per day. Generally, pandas will only consume about a third of what they are offered.
The need to obtain such large quantities of bamboo is to satisfy the dietary needs of giant pandas, which is a common Zoo challenge.
Fortunately, they now have a solution that provides pandas with plenty of bamboo and invites the local community to be involved in the process.
Engaging the Community for Conservation
The success of the browser program between Georgia Power, Clearion, and Zoo Atlanta sparked another idea that has taken root: using Clearion and GIS for the panda bamboo harvesting program.
Using the same technology from the browser program, Zoo Atlanta created a new map, pictured here, which identifies nearby sites where bamboo species grow naturally.
Zoo Atlanta is fortunate because our climate allows for the growth of a wide variety of bamboo species. Our local community is very supportive and we count on bamboo donations from private individuals to help us feed our pandas. –Dr. Sam Rivera, DVM
The program allows Zoo employees to harvest multiple species of bamboo and deliver it to their giant pandas. In addition to feeding the pandas, bamboo is also used as a special treat for some of the other animals, such as giraffes, warthogs, and gorillas.
Zoo Atlanta is a good steward of the local ecosystem by embracing sustainable harvesting practices, such as giving the bamboo enough time to regenerate between harvests. This map shows the location and harvest status of each site, letting crews know which sites are 'Closed' – meaning that bamboo has been collected recently – in order to avoid depleting the natural supply.
Learn More. Get Involved
Geospatial technology is creating opportunities for organizations to more easily connect with each other and with the public, yielding the promise of better outcomes for everyone. Clearion is excited to share this story as an example of our belief that new possibilities emerge when infrastructure maintenance goes digital. We also hope that this will encourage utility companies and other infrastructure organizations everywhere to deepen their engagement with non-profits and the community at-large. We'd love to hear your stories and ideas, and of course, we're here to help. Scroll down to learn more about programs at Zoo Atlanta, and click the button below to connect with Clearion.
Feed the Zoo!
Did you know it takes $65 to feed Zoo Atlanta's animals for one hour? The Zoo relies on community donations to offset the costs. You can support the Zoo the following ways:
Lun Lun and Yang Yang
