As they face their first winter in their new home, 11 rare tigers at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park’s new Bengal Gardens enclosure ignore straw beds for shelves heated by boilers donated by Viessmann
Lincolnshire, UK – Keepers at the newly-opened Bengal Gardens at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park have found that their Bengal tigers prefer the underfloor heated shelves in their enclosure to straw and other alternatives provided to make them feel at home.
The Bengal tiger is one of the world’s most endangered species and it is thought that there are only 1,500 left in the wild. Opened in spring this year, Bengal Gardens is home to 11 Bengal tigers that were formerly kept as pets or as part of collections. The 6,500 sq ft enclosure has its own lake, woodland and enrichment facilities and sits adjacent to the largest parrot sanctuary in the world, the Parrot Zoo Trust, which is also part of the park. The site includes a 200 ft animal house, research facility and a hospital.
After a visit to the sanctuary in early 2017, Viessmann donated two gas condensing boilers for the tiger enclosure. A Vitodens 100-W model provides underfloor heating for the large concrete shelves within the tiger habitat, kept at 18 degrees, as well as some nearby radiators, while a Vitodens 111-W storage combi boiler provides heating and hot water for the staff’s sinks and showers.
Sanctuary CEO, Steve Nichols said, “It is not only important, it is imperative that we keep these tigers safe. We have got nearly 1% of the world’s population here in Friskney! We are incredibly grateful to Viessmann for the donation. It has been interesting to watch the tigers make full use of their heated shelves. When the heating was turned on, every animal stood up and moved on to the shelves! They are using them to sleep and interact with each other when the outside temperature is too cold. The tigers now have a choice throughout the year, no matter the weather is outside. The warmth is also beneficial for their joints. Tigers in captivity are prone to arthritis and by supplementing their food with cod liver oil and offering the heated pads, this offers much needed pain relief or can prevent the onset of arthritis in the first place.”
The Lincolnshire Wildlife Park has recently begun to take in more species of exotic animals. It is ranked as having very high standards of care by the World Zoo Organisation and strives to set new levels of care for the critically endangered tigers. The park’s focus is on animal welfare, research and conservation.
Image – The tigers prefer to sleep on their new heated shelves at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park.
About Viessmann Ltd.
Viessmann Limited is part of the Viessmann Group of companies,
The Viessmann Group is one of the leading international manufacturers of heating systems, industrial systems and refrigeration systems. Founded in 1917, Viessmann remains a family-owned business and has over 12,000 employees across the world.
Viessmann has 23 production divisions in 12 countries, subsidiaries and representations in 74 countries and 120 sales offices around the world. The company’s commitment to the highest standards of manufacturing has led to its systems being awarded a multitude of awards over the course of its history.
Viessmann’s comprehensive product range of domestic and commercial heating systems has an output range of 1.5 to 120,000 kW. It offers oil and gas-fired boilers, solar thermal and photovoltaics, combined heat and power modules (CHP), ground, air and water sourced heat pumps, biomass boilers and fuel cell heating systems.