What if connecting with our animals wasn’t just about watching them – but sharing an experience together?
Recently, we worked with researchers from the University of Glasgow to trial a brand-new system called CreatureConnect. It’s a custom-built piece of tech designed to let lemurs and humans share control of sensory experiences, from sounds and visuals to even different scents.
Over 20 days, visitors were invited to take part alongside our five red ruffed lemurs. The lemurs could trigger changes by moving closer to or further away from the device, while visitors used a touchscreen to adjust what was happening – creating a shared, back-and-forth experience between species.
The researchers tested the system in several ways: sometimes the lemurs controlled it alone, sometimes visitors did, and sometimes control was shared. The results were not what the research team had expected… Surprisingly, the lemurs were most engaged when control was shared with people, rather than going solo. At the same time, visitors stayed longer, watched more closely, and reported feeling a stronger connection with the animals after using the device.
For the research team, that’s a really significant finding. It shows that shared experiences like this have real value for both humans and animals. By giving lemurs the choice to take part, while still creating a sense of interaction for visitors, systems like CreatureConnect could help bridge that gap between animal welfare and meaningful visitor connection.
Lorna Graham, our Research Coordinator, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have been involved in this innovative project. We’re always looking for evidence-based ways to enhance the wellbeing of the animals in our care, and CreatureConnect gave our lemurs the opportunity to make choices and share experiences on their own terms.
“It’s been fascinating to see how engaged both visitors and lemurs were when collaborating with each other. When people can see the lemurs responding and making their own choices, something really seems to click. That shared moment creates a genuine connection- and when you feel connected to an animal, you’re far more likely to care about its future.”
Red ruffed lemurs are critically endangered in the wild, so building that connection really matters. If people leave not just with happy memories, but with a stronger sense of empathy and interest in conservation, that’s a powerful step in the right direction.
It’s still early days, but projects like this give us a glimpse of what’s possible – not just for lemurs, but for how we connect with wildlife more broadly. And that can only be a good thing.