EAZA Tiger Campaign extended to 2004 Contents - European ...
EAZA Tiger Campaign extended to 2004 Contents - European ...
EAZA Tiger Campaign extended to 2004 Contents - European ...
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
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