The concept of LIVE wildlife broadcasting is not new. In 1977 two remote-controlled cameras and a series of infrared lamps were installed outside a badger sett in the Cotswolds and was broadcast as 'Badgerwatch' LIVE on the BBC. Since then there have been numerous LIVE series by the BBC including: Birdwatch (1980 s) Reefwatch (1988), which were the first LIVE underwater broadcasts, Africawatch (1989), Flamingowatch (1995) and of course the very successful Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Big Cat Live, which continue today.

In 1998 Graham Wallington and Paul Clifford founded AfriCam, which launched on the 17th August 1998 with a LIVE cam overlooking a waterhole on Djuma Game Reserve at Bush Lodge. This was the first LIVE wildlife cam on the Internet and in these early days the broadcast was limited to a JPEG still image that refrehed every 30 seconds.

AfriCam grew exponentially for 3 years. More than 50 cams were installed in many locations around the world including: Hluhluwe in South Africa; Etosha in Namibia; Polar Bears in Manitoba, Canada (which AfriCam shared with National Geographic as their first Wildcam); a Beaver lodge in Minnesota; Golden Lion Tamarins in the Brazilian rain forest; underwater on a wreck and in a cave full of sharks off the KwaZulu Natal Coast; underwater in the Bahamas and many many more. In addition AfriCam pioneered LIVE safaris in Africa, initially with a refreshing cam (Virtual Game Drive or VGD) and later as a Windows Media video stream. AfriCam also experimented with a pay per view service and produced 27 LIVE TV episodes for the BBC's UKTV Horizons channel including 5 presenters in Johannesburg, Mashatu, Pillanesberg and Mala Mala. However, AfriCam liquidated as a business in 2002 and you can read all about it in a book written by Peter Armitage ... The Show Must Go On.

There are several other histories that need to be added here, like: SeeMoreWildlife, Doug Carrick ... Hornby Islands ... Infotec ... Wavelit ... Hancock Wildlife Foundation, Captain Dave, National Geographic's Wildcams (Pete's Pond in particular) and many others. If you have any information to share or maybe even willing to write a few paragraphs based on research, it would be most appreciated. Please send all info to history@wildearth.tv and where possible please include hyperlinks to source matarial.