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

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EAZA News 43 – 2003 24 July - August - September by Jitka Vokurková, Zoo Olomouc, Czech Republica New Enclosures New enclosure for Japanese macaques at Zoo Olomouc On 14 April 2002 Zoo Olomouc opened a new enclosure for Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) that has proved to be enormously popular with our visitors. The one hectare enclosure is situated in a wooded part of the zoo and has a narrow brook running through the middle of it. Ropes and other climbing apparatus are installed in four different areas of the enclosure. The three metre high mesh perimeter fence is topped with hotwire. Four shelters with floor heating that the animals can use during cold weather are provided. This enclosure may be entered by visitors, although disabled people as well as parents with prams are recommended not to pass through, as the path is rather steep in some areas. A suspended wooden bridge takes the visitors across the enclosure’s hills. The animals are fed four times per day at several feeding stations installed throughout the enclosure. A zoo representative provides comments to the visitors, including information about the macaques’ life in the wild, during these feedings. A total of 19 Japanese macaques were obtained from the Amsterdam and Rome zoos. Two youngsters, both successfully reared, were born in the summer of 2002. ATwo exhibits opened in Plock Zoo by Dorota Raniszewska, Plock Zoo, Poland Two new outdoor exhibits were recently opened in Plock Zoo. An exhibit for Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) was opened in September 2002 and one for agile gibbons (Hylobates agilis) in October 2002. Exhibit for the macaques The Japanese macaque enclosure is placed on a hill, which is a natural element of the area. The enclosure is surrounded by a wooden fence with windows to make observation possible for even the youngest of our visitors. The group of macaques can also be observed well from the visitor’s path because the view is from above. The enclosure imitates the natural environment of Japanese macaques to stimulate natural behaviour. Japanese macaques’ enclosure We covered trees growing in the enclosure next to the fence with a net and placed an extra electric fence around them to prevent escapes. Photo: Aleksander Niwelinski A Japanese-style wooden house where the macaques spend their nights is situated in the middle of the enclosure. The house is divided into two parts to provide some possibilities to separate the 6.4 macaques. Each part has two windows to transmit daylight. The house can be heated by an electric heater if necessary. Outside, enrichment elements constructed include tree trunks, a stream and pond (heated in winter). Gibbon’s enclosure A new agile gibbons island is situated on a natural pond. The island was created by expanding and reinforcing a natural, grass-covered island. The gibbons use a system of tree trunks with ropes for brachiation. Some partly hollow tree trunks filled with water provide drinking opportunities. Food is offered on platforms fashioned from slices of tree-trunk. The gibbons brachiate across the water from the island to the indoor facility via two parallel 6 cm diametre ropes 65 cm apart. The house is divided into two parts and two large windows provide an excellent opportunity for the gibbons to observe their surroundings. Seats for the macaques are mounted 15 cm from the windows, and rest benches and ropes are also present. The exit for gibbons to the island (using the ropes) is protected by electric fence to prevent escape via the roof of the house. The keepers reach the island by an ‘under water bridge’. Photos: Olomouc Zoo
oThe Tiger Kingdom in Kristiansand Zoo by Gunn Holen Robstad, Kristiansand Zoo, Norway As the opening of 'The Tiger Kingdom' on 18 May 2003 marked the first time ever that tigers have been kept in Norway, it was almost a national event. By means of the EEP programme for Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) we were able to get a male tiger from Kyiv Zoo, Ukraine and a female from Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland. The building of their large enclosure started in January 2002 and cost two million euros. The approximately 7,500 m2 outdoor enclosure is nicely situated in a forest area. The many trees are mainly oak and pine, and there is also a dense bottom vegetation of Erica and small bushes. The enclosure is a natural valley, with a height difference of approximately thirty metres between the top and bottom. The fence surrounding the enclosure is five metres high, with the top one metre angled 45 degrees inwards. The bottom of the fence is secured in concrete or bolted to the rocky ground, and five electric wires are attached at the top and at the bottom of the fence. Two small natural waterfalls run together into an artificial lake (300 m2 ) to provide water. Close up A public path with bridges surrounds three quarters of the enclosure. The tigers have many possibilities to hide away. We constructed a seventy metres long underground tunnel leading into the tiger enclosure to give the public extra New Enclosures opportunities to study the tigers close up. The public can view the animals through safety windows in the tunnel, and can almost feel the tigers’ breath through the steel bars. The Tiger House is situated in the lowest part of the enclosure. The house contains toilet facilities, a souvenir shop and a snackbar for visitors, and three sleeping boxes (4x6 metres) and a big indoor area (180 m2 ) visible to the public for the tigers. The tigers can move in two levels decorated with trees and ‘Russian Taiga’ paintings on the walls. The floor of the tiger area is covered with a forty centimetres deep layer of wooden carvings. Two other sleeping boxes located just outside the Tiger House are roofed, thereby offering protection during winter storms. Tiger instincts The tigers are kept together all the time and can walk around both inside and outside as they like. The animals live in great harmony, showing no signs of stress. They are very gentle towards each other, even from the very beginning when they were being introduced after a very short period of acclimatisation. The animals are very active and use the whole area. Their keeper is stimulating their natural behaviour in different ways, such as by hiding the food so that the tigers have to use their hunting instincts to collect their meals. Their favourite food is moose. We receive much moose meat due to the fact that many of these animals are killed by traffic in our part of the world. Photos: Kristiansand Zoo EAZA News 43 – 2003 25 July - August - September
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Page 5 and 6: From the EAZA Office Additional fun
Page 7 and 8: Amur tiger © David Higgs Exciting
Page 9 and 10: Start campaign in Aalborg Zoo at Ea
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EAZA Tiger Campaign extended to 2004 Contents - European ...

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