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EAZA Tiger Campaign extended to 2004 Contents - European ...

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oThe<br />

<strong>Tiger</strong> Kingdom in Kristiansand Zoo<br />

by Gunn Holen Robstad, Kristiansand Zoo, Norway<br />

As the opening of 'The <strong>Tiger</strong> Kingdom' on 18 May 2003 marked<br />

the first time ever that tigers have been kept in Norway, it was<br />

almost a national event. By means of the EEP programme for<br />

Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) we were able <strong>to</strong> get a<br />

male tiger from Kyiv Zoo, Ukraine and a female from Edinburgh<br />

Zoo, Scotland. The building of their large enclosure started in<br />

January 2002 and cost two million euros.<br />

The approximately 7,500 m2 outdoor enclosure is nicely<br />

situated in a forest area. The many trees are mainly oak and<br />

pine, and there is also a dense bot<strong>to</strong>m vegetation of Erica<br />

and small bushes. The enclosure is a natural valley, with<br />

a height difference of approximately thirty metres between<br />

the <strong>to</strong>p and bot<strong>to</strong>m. The fence surrounding the enclosure is<br />

five metres high, with the <strong>to</strong>p one metre angled 45 degrees<br />

inwards. The bot<strong>to</strong>m of the fence is secured in concrete<br />

or bolted <strong>to</strong> the rocky ground, and five electric wires are<br />

attached at the <strong>to</strong>p and at the bot<strong>to</strong>m of the fence. Two<br />

small natural waterfalls run <strong>to</strong>gether in<strong>to</strong> an artificial lake<br />

(300 m2 ) <strong>to</strong> provide water.<br />

Close up<br />

A public path with bridges surrounds three quarters of the<br />

enclosure. The tigers have many possibilities <strong>to</strong> hide away.<br />

We constructed a seventy metres long underground tunnel<br />

leading in<strong>to</strong> the tiger enclosure <strong>to</strong> give the public extra<br />

New Enclosures<br />

opportunities <strong>to</strong> study the tigers close up. The public can<br />

view the animals through safety windows in the tunnel, and<br />

can almost feel the tigers’ breath through the steel bars.<br />

The <strong>Tiger</strong> House is situated in the lowest part of the<br />

enclosure. The house contains <strong>to</strong>ilet facilities, a souvenir<br />

shop and a snackbar for visi<strong>to</strong>rs, and three sleeping boxes<br />

(4x6 metres) and a big indoor area (180 m2 ) visible <strong>to</strong><br />

the public for the tigers. The tigers can move in two levels<br />

decorated with trees and ‘Russian Taiga’ paintings on the<br />

walls. The floor of the tiger area is covered with a forty<br />

centimetres deep layer of wooden carvings. Two other<br />

sleeping boxes located just outside the <strong>Tiger</strong> House are<br />

roofed, thereby offering protection during winter s<strong>to</strong>rms.<br />

<strong>Tiger</strong> instincts<br />

The tigers are kept <strong>to</strong>gether all the time and can walk around<br />

both inside and outside as they like. The animals live in great<br />

harmony, showing no signs of stress. They are very gentle<br />

<strong>to</strong>wards each other, even from the very beginning when they<br />

were being introduced after a very short period of acclimatisation.<br />

The animals are very active and use the whole area. Their<br />

keeper is stimulating their natural behaviour in different ways,<br />

such as by hiding the food so that the tigers have <strong>to</strong> use their<br />

hunting instincts <strong>to</strong> collect their meals. Their favourite food is<br />

moose. We receive much moose meat due <strong>to</strong> the fact that many<br />

of these animals are killed by traffic in our part of the world.<br />

Pho<strong>to</strong>s: Kristiansand Zoo<br />

<strong>EAZA</strong> News 43 – 2003<br />

25<br />

July - August - September

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