How Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Went From Radio Calls to Finding Guests in Seconds

A Sprawling Campus, Over 250 Cameras, and an All-Manual Search

Located in Tacoma, WA, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium hosts thousands of guests every year across a sprawling campus. With over 250 security cameras already in place, the zoo relied on a confusing network of Ubiquiti systems to monitor exhibits and visitor spaces.

The cameras were there; the response was not. When a child or guest went missing, staff fell back on verbal descriptions and radio dispatches, coordinating manually across wide spaces. “We’d get a call on the radio that someone was missing,” said Nick Belswick, AV Systems Coordinator. “Our team would jump in to look, but it was all manual. We had no way to instantly search footage and know where someone was last seen.”

The zoo needed a smarter, faster way to respond — one that would build on the existing camera network without disrupting current operations or requiring extensive retraining.

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Intelligent Search on the Cameras Already in Place

Coram’s approach was to bring intelligent video search to the zoo’s existing security footprint with minimal complexity and no infrastructure overhaul. After reviewing options, Point Defiance found Coram’s streamlined deployment and intuitive interface to be a strong match. “We didn’t have to replace our Ubiquiti system,” said Nick. The team piped its existing feeds into Coram, and setup was a plug-and-play experience backed by responsive tech support.

Today, Coram analyzes more than 50 key camera feeds across two sites, and staff can locate an individual in seconds with a natural-language search like “child in red hat and blue jeans”.

Coram stood out for a few specific reasons:

• AI search that works: Quickly locate missing people with descriptive search
• Easy integration: Works seamlessly with existing Ubiquiti infrastructure
• Responsive support: Hands-on, helpful onboarding from day one
• Dual-purpose value: Supports both public safety and animal care exploration
• Budget-friendly: Powerful capabilities without a massive price tag

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From Lost Guests to Threat Prevention

Beyond locating missing guests, Coram delivered bonus value with its Person of Interest and license plate tracking features. “We had a situation with a known individual who raised safety concerns,” Nick shared. “We uploaded his photo into Coram, and every time one of our staff walked by a camera, it confirmed the alert system worked. If that person returned, we’d know instantly.”

Nick also sees potential for Coram in animal care, using AI to track animal movement and behavior over time. “It could help log how often animals visit a water source or lie down, potentially supporting husbandry and health insights.”

What Point Defiance Is Doing with Coram

• Locating missing guests in seconds: Staff search footage by description instead of coordinating a manual sweep across wide spaces.
• Watching for a person of interest: An uploaded photo triggers an alert the moment a known individual returns.
• Tracking license plates: License plate tracking works alongside the search for people.
• Exploring animal care: Potential to log how often animals visit a water source or lie down, supporting husbandry and health insights.
• Building on the same cameras: More than 50 feeds integrated across two sites, with the option to add cameras and upgrade servers as the value is proven.

With more than 50 cameras already integrated and more possibilities on the horizon, Point Defiance is entering a multi-year evaluation phase: train more staff on Coram, expand its use in animal care, and potentially scale to cover more of the park. “If we can demonstrate more value, especially for animal care teams, we’ll add more cameras and upgrade our servers to handle the load,” said Nick. Asked whether he would recommend Coram, his answer was “Absolutely.”

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