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Jodea

Snowleopard exhibit - Kolmården

View of the major part of the snowleopard exhibit at Kolmården. Taken: 4th October 2008

Snowleopard exhibit - Kolmården
Jodea, 28 Oct 2008
    • Jodea
      View of the major part of the snowleopard exhibit at Kolmården.
      Taken: 4th October 2008
    • mstickmanp
      this looks like a great exhibit!
    • Animal
      And they don't jump out?!
    • snowleopard
      It looks like a slightly smaller version of the Zurich Zoo's snow leopard exhibit. I'm shocked that this habitat used to house polar bears.
    • Dan
      Why are you shocked, snowleopard? The exhibit is 3000 square meters big. Much bigger than the Zurich exhibit. Much bigger than any old bear grotto. It was totally cutting edge when it was built in the late 1960s. I would argue that still today it would make a much better polar bear enclosure than many others. A particular nice point about it is that when the animals kept in it sits at the top af the mountain they have an almost unlimited outlook into a fjord, large forests and other mountains. They can see for miles.........
    • Dan
      Question to Jodea:

      What are those two "lines" stretching out across the exhibit? They are especially visible if you enlarge the picture. I wouldn´t possibly be some kind of arrangement to present things for the leopards to hunt for? Food, toys and stuff? Or is that just wishful thinking?
    • Dan
      Comment to Animal.

      That is just the point that I have made on several occasions here on Zoochat! It seems that you don´t HAVE to use meshed enclosures for climbing cats to prevent them from escaping. The example here from Kolmården is so much more pleasing, both from the animal´s point of view and the visitor´s. No netted cage! Instead a big natural mountain, from which the animal can see for miles. Big walls around it keep the cats from escaping.
    • Jodea
      I agree with both Dan and snowleopard, it was probably not any ideal polar bear enclosure (I think that was one of the reasons to move them) but I think there have been quite many other exhibits which has been worse (and maybe still is), to be shocked about. It should be noted that the enclosure looked slightly different then. The water level was higher; I believe the brown colour on the concrete wall gives a pretty fair apprehension about that. And the public viewing area which can be seen to the left in this picture (my other pictures is taken from there) didn’t exist. That area was mostly filled with water. The “bridge”/ramp, where this photo is taken, which follow the inside of the concrete wall didn’t exist either.
      To Animal: No, the cats don’t jump out. The only extra prevention I’ve seen is a smaller electric fence along the far side of the hill where the gap between the rocks and the concrete wall only is a few meters.
      To Dan: I’m pretty sure that the wires above the enclosure are for enrichment purpose, to hang up food or skin, or let the leopards “hunt” by pulling the wires. I hope I’m right on this.
    • Dan
      Thanks Jodea!
    • snowleopard
      It's rather bizarre that I didn't receive any of the updates to this specific photo, as I made a comment two days ago and have read nothing since. Anyway, I stated that the habitat appeared to be a smaller version of the Zurich Zoo snow leopard exhibit, which is arguably the best of its kind on the planet. The only aspect of this enclosure that surprised me was that it used to be utilized by polar bears, as I've never in my life seen a polar bear habitat with a huge mountain in the centre. ZooChat member Jodea has clarified that some renovations have occurred since the exhibit held bears, and that helps clear up quite a few points. As far as snow leopards are concerned I think that the habitat appears to be very open and yet excellent for big cats. I particularly like the fact that there is zero mesh to hinder photographers.
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  • Category:
    Kolmården Zoo
    Uploaded By:
    Jodea
    Date:
    28 Oct 2008
    View Count:
    2,666
    Comment Count:
    11

    EXIF Data

    File Size:
    306.3 KB
    Mime Type:
    image/jpeg
    Width:
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    Height:
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    Aperture:
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    Make:
    Canon
    Model:
    Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
    Date / Time:
    2008:10:04 15:50:50
    Exposure Time:
    1/100 sec
    ISO Speed Rating:
    ISO 400
    Focal Length:
    18 mm
     

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