How Africam Streams Wildlife Footage from the African Bush with Wowza

Download the full Africam case study to see how they built a resilient streaming workflow from the African wilderness.

   

Bringing Africa’s Wildlife to a Live Global Audience 

Streaming live video is hard enough in a controlled environment but imagine doing it from a safari lodge deep in the bush with fluctuating internet connections, wildlife unpredictability, and no room for technical failure. 

That’s the reality Africam faces every day. 

Africam’s mission is to connect people around the world with the magic of African wildlife. They operate more than 40 remote IP cameras across the continent, streaming real-time animal activity around the clock. The challenge? Deliver high-definition, uninterrupted streams from some of the most bandwidth-limited locations in the world. 

Why Africam Chose Wowza for Remote Wildlife Streaming 

Africam needed more than a plug-and-play solution. Their requirements included: 

• Full control over video quality and stream customization 

• Reliable delivery of HD video from remote, low-bandwidth areas 

• Scalable infrastructure to support growing viewership 

• A flexible architecture that could support complex workflows 

With Wowza Streaming Engine, Africam found the powerful backbone they needed. They moved from third-party platforms with limited control to a self-managed, robust solution capable of powering their vision. 

Inside Africam’s Streaming Setup 

Here’s how Africam built a resilient streaming architecture with Wowza: 

Centralized Real-Time Video Processing 

• All 40+ IP camera feeds (RTSP) are routed to a server in Johannesburg. 

• Wowza handles audio transcoding (MP2 to AAC), adaptive bitrate encoding, lodge-specific watermarking, and alternate stream mixing. 

• Snapshot images are also pulled from each feed every few seconds. 

Failover That Keeps Streams Live 

Africam can’t afford downtime. So, with Wowza’s support for automated failover, any stream interruptions automatically trigger a pre-recorded highlight reel until the live connection is restored. 

Multi-Destination Delivery with Global Reach 

From Johannesburg, Wowza pushes each live stream to multiple distribution platforms, including YouTube. Combined with Starlink satellite internet, Africam maintains an always-on global reach, even from some of the most remote wildlife reserves in Africa. 

The Results: Reliable, Scalable Wildlife Streaming 

With Wowza, Africam achieved: 

• Stable HD live streams across 30+ remote locations 

• Over 2 million viewing hours in a single year 

• Greater operational efficiency and technical control 

• A scalable solution that grows with their mission 

As Africam CEO Paul Penzhorn put it:

“Wowza Streaming Engine is a vital part of our ability to deliver live wildlife experiences from some of the most remote parts of Africa to a global audience.” 

Ready to Build Resilient Streaming From Anywhere? 

Whether you’re streaming from a national park, a rural research site, or an international event, Wowza helps you deliver high-quality video where other platforms fall short. 

Download the Africam Case Study to learn how they architected their streaming workflow.