 LOCATION:
Zürichbergstr. 221 , CH-8044 Zurich , Switzerland
Phone: ++41-44-254 25 00
Fax: 254 25 10
URL: http://www.zoo.ch
 KEY WORDS:
EEP
 ANIMALS:
| Family: | Species: | Common Name: | Capacity: |
| Felidae | Panthera tigris altaica | Siberian Tiger | 1.1 with offspring or 1.2 |
 DESCRIPTION:
The Himalayas serve as the uniting theme for the new exhibits that showcase Siberian tiger, Mongolian wolf, snow leopard, and red panda. The visitors are welcomed at an information plaza which is framed by stacked stone walls. Buddhist prayer flags are attached horizontally between four big stone piles. These symbols connect the exhibit to the culture of the region.
On the steep expanse, the enclosures were arranged according to the natural occurence of these high-mountain animals: Tiger and wolf below, red panda in the middle range, and snow leopard on top. Depending on precipitation, more or less clear water flows through the snow leopard enclosure, crosses the wolf enclosure next, and is finally received by the swimming pool of the tiger. Each enclosure displays a specific character introducing the visitors to the natural habitat of each animal species.
The tiger exhibit shows a section of mountainous, grassy landscape with cloud and decidious forest. At the lowest part of the enclosure water forms a lake. The design tries to offer the tigers a varied and naturalistic habitat.
The enclosure is bordered by a 4 m-high fence with a 1 m-deep overhang and a 3m-high artificial rock wall with 2 m-hich electrical wire on top. Viewing is provided by sections of glass panels, piano wire, and perforated metal.
 SIZE:
The entire Himalayas area encompasses 7400 m². 3250 m² of this are visitor areas, 3450 m² are outdoor enclosures, 470 m² are service areas, and 230 m² are buildings.
The outdoor enclosure for the Amur tigers has two viewable parts. The bigger exhibit is 1031 m². The smaller part can be used to separate animals. It is 246 m² big. An additional 61 m² separation enclosure is behind the scenes.
The pool in the main enclosure has a volume of 50 m³, and a second one in the behind-the-scences enclosure is 5.7 m³. The holding building is about 45 m² and a 25 m² separate building holds the life support systems. Space allocation in square meters:
| use | indoors | outdoors | total exhibit |
| accessible | total | accessible | total |
| animals | | | | | |
| visitors | | | | | |
| others | | | | | |
| total | | 70 | | 1,338 | 1,408 |
 COSTS:
CHF 7,000,000 including 20 % for design.
The costs include the entire Himalaya exhibit with all four enclosures for Siberian tiger, Mongolian wolf, snow leopard, and red panda.
 OPENING DATE:
22 August 2001
 DESIGN:
Beginning: March 1997
- Project Management/ Landscape Architect: Vetsch, Nipkow Partner, Zürich
- Architect: Marc Ryf, Zürich
- Engineer: Peter Osterwalder, Oberneunforn
- Media Planner/ House Technology: Schudel + Schudel, Kollbrunn
- Electrical Engineer: Schmidiger + Rosasco AG, Zürich
 CONSTRUCTION:
Beginning: 21 April 1999
- Sanitary, plumbing, roofing: Preisig AG, Zürich
- Aquaria Planner: Joseph Nietlispach, Aquariumtechnik, Wohlenschwil
- Metal Construction: Analp Metallbau AG, Zürich
- Horticulture: A. + D. Berger, Kilchberg
- Electrical Construction: E. Burkhalter Ing. AG, Zürich
- Building construction: Diener AG, Zürich
- Construction: K. Eicher, Bauunternehmung AG, Regensdorf
- Shotcrete: Laich SA, Avegno TI
 LOCAL CONDITIONS:
 PLANTS:
The climatic conditions of Zurich are comparable to certain height and vegetation levels in the Himalayas, which made it possible to use plant species that are related to those at the original location.
The plant selection for the tiger exhibit mirrors the mountainous fringes of the taiga with coniferous and deciduous forest and grasslands with sparse bushes. The plant list specifies the Latin names of the plants used for this exhibit.
 FEATURES DEDICATED TO ANIMALS:
Great care was taken to include enrichment opportunities into the design. The tigers use the offered stone pedestals as resting and viewing platforms. Logs, living trees and the pool trigger climbing, marking and swimming. A shifting gate to the neighboring exhibit allows the wolfs to visit, which enriches the enclosures with new stimuli. Llamas, alpacas, and ponies are led through the zoo several times a week, specifically also near the tigers and lions to incite hunting behavior.
A crank in the visitor area moves a rope in the exhibit and "invites" the tiger to play. The current inhabitants of the enclosure have not shown interest in this kind of entertainment yet. Hanging bags with changeable contents offer additional possibilities for behavioral enrichment.
Eight automated feeding boxes are filled in irregular intervals. The boxes are programmed to open at arbitrary times, which forces the animals to ‘hunt' for their food. This kind of feeding management proved to be very effective in preventing stereotypical behaviour. Big meat portions are hung in the exhibit from time to time.
 FEATURES DEDICATED TO KEEPERS:
The animals can be separated or shifted by confining them into the smaller part of the exhibit or into the holding cages. They spend day and night throughout the whole year outside and are only confined to the inside holding cages while work is done in the outside enclosures. The shifting doors and the handles are marked by corresponding colors to prevent mistakes. A transportable squeeze chute is located between the indoor cages. The post used to hang big meat portions has a swing arm to facilitate loading from outside of the enclosure.
The filtration system is explained by a list of instructions and graphics.
 FEATURES DEDICATED TO VISITORS:
A big visitor shelter with glass viewing as well as perforated screens allow the visitors to view the biggest part of the exhibit. The perforated screens allow not only for visual contact but also for an olfactory meeting. An additional viewing point makes the smaller part of the enclosure visible to the visitors.
 INTERPRETATION:
The signage about the biology of the animals conforms to signage used in the entire zoo. Additionally, special signs offer information about the threats to tigers, as well as the involvement in conservation efforts by the Zoo Zuerich.
Signs with flaps explain the facial expressions of tigers. Along the visitor path, casts show tracks, droppings, and feeding sites left by tigers. By pressing buttons, the visitors can also listen to different tiger sounds.
 MANAGEMENT:
Approximately four times a week the food boxes are loaded. Of the eight available boxes not all are filled every time. A soundless magnetic lock is opened by remote control four times each day for 15 minutes. When the animals are hungry, they patrol the enclosure and check the boxes for food availability. They have to open the boxes actively to get to the food.
 RESEARCH:
Saskia Jenny and Hans Schmid examined in a 2001 study if the stereotypical repetetive behaviours at Zoo Zuerich are caused by frustrated hunting behaviour. Experiments with the food boxes confirmed this hypothesis. See Zoo Biology 21: 573-584 (2002)
 CONSERVATION:
Zoo Zuerich takes part in the EEP for the conservation of Siberian tigers.
The water features in the tiger exhibit are part of a closed circuit. The water is cleaned by pressure sand filters. Evaporation is compensated for through run-off and spring water.
 LOCAL RESOURCES:
|
 |
| 47K | 97K |
| Tiger bathing (1) |
| ©O. Röthlin, 2002 |
 |
| 40K | 92K |
| Tiger Swimming (5) |
| ©Zoo Zürich, 2002 |
 |
| 54K | 63K |
| Visitor View (9) |
| ©Dirk Petzold, 2002 |
|
