Augmented Reality Zoo Opens In Tampa

TAMPA – The Big Cat Rescue Experience, the very first Augmented Reality (AR) zoo in the world, opened Friday at the Westfield Citrus Park Shopping Center. Thanks to a collaboration between Big Cat Rescue, Westfield Citrus Park Shopping Center and VidPic AR, the public will now be able to experience lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars, bobcats, ocelots and caracals like never before.

VidPic AR, a Tampa Bay technology start up focusing on innovative messages via AR, utilizes an app that allows people to point their phones at print images and play videos – experiencing all of the sights, sounds and motion of a video on a mobile app. Visitors to the Big Cat Rescue Experience at Westfield Citrus Park Shopping Center can download the free app and then point their phones at any of the stunning big cat posters on the walls. Guests will marvel as they watch and hear big cats virtually leap off the posters and run, play, swim, eat and bathe in this zoo of the future.

“Magnificent big cats such as lions, tigers, leopards and cougars belong in the wild – not in cages,” explains Carole Baskin, founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue. “By using AR and VR technologies, people can experience nature in a far more immersive, educational and fun way, without the cats having to sacrifice their freedom. It’s the perfect intersection of nature and technology.”

The traditional zoo model displays wild big cats in cages in an effort for the public to appreciate and want to save them, but during the past 200 years of that methodology the populations of wild big cats including tigers, leopards and lions have been decimated to near extinction. Big Cat Rescue believes tigers could be gone in the wild in the next five years. A new way of thinking and better ways to engage people with their natural world needs to take place. AR and Virtual Reality (VR) provide those experiences without requiring wild animals to be warehoused in cages in zoos.

The Big Cat Rescue Experience space will also have 360 VR videos on display. Guests will wear VR headsets and choose from dozens of videos featuring Big Cat Rescue’s exotic cats, who were saved from fur farms, circus acts, roadside zoos and private owners. Visitors will feel like they are in the middle of the action and closer to these dangerous predators than could ever be possible even in the wild. The videos will show various every-day events at the sanctuary including Keepers handing out treats, Big Cat Rescue’s veterinarians performing surgeries and cats chomping on their meals.

“We’re proud to partner with the team at Big Cat Rescue to use this innovative technology for such an important cause”, said Ron Rudderman, CEO of VidPic AR. “Each interactive image in the exhibit has a story behind it. Big Cat Rescue is using the VidPic AR app to bring those images to life to engage and educate the public, and enlist their participation in the protection of these magnificent animals. It’s a fun, magical experience.”

About VidPic AR: A Tampa Bay based augmented reality marketing company, has brought their creative interactive messaging platform to NHL teams, Club Med International, Moffit Cancer Center, The MOSI, The Florida Orchestra, and now Big Cat Rescue. VidPic AR offers creative interactive solutions that are easy to implement, scale and afford. To access the augmented reality experience, viewers can download VidPic AR from either the App Store or Google Play.

About Big Cat Rescue: Located in Tampa, Florida, Big Cat Rescue is one of the largest accredited sanctuaries in the world for abused, abandoned or neglected exotic cats. The sanctuary is home to more than 50 big cats including tigers, lions, leopards, jaguar, cougar and bobcats. For more information, visit BigCatRescue.org.

Price: FREE

Ages: All ages

Accessible: ADA accessible

What to bring: Bring your cell phone or tablet and a desire to see big cats having fun