Tram too the zoo

More space for the elephants, more proximity for visitors. The new Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park marks a further milestone at Zoo Zurich. While the elephants move around more freely, maintain social contacts and even go swimming, the public will have the chance to get closer to the animals than ever before. The park will open its doors on Saturday.
The new Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park at Zoo Zurich will open its doors to zoo visitors on 7 June 2014. The impressive compound in the eastern part of the zoo will allow members of the public to see the elephants from a completely new perspective. Visitors will be able to observe the mighty animals reacting socially with one another and look on as the elephants eat at various different food points in their landscaped new compound. The elephants can even be seen swimming from a special underwater viewpoint.

Water plays a significant role in the new Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park. A number of different pools and showers are provided for the elephants both inside and out. The animals make active use of these facilities. Elephants are good swimmers. They are used to crossing stretches of water out in the wild, and often bathe in water in order to regulate their body temperature and look after their skin. Now they can do the same in their new compound.

Protection of their wild relatives

The new elephant park is named after the Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand, where Zoo Zurich supports a project to help protect Asiatic elephants. Resolving the “human-elephant conflict” that opposes farmers and elephants is an important aspect of the project. The conflict is due to the extensive damage caused to plantations by wild elephants as they move from one part of the protected zone to another. Protective fencing is being used to remedy the situation. A series of exhibits at the Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park at Zoo Zurich shows visitors what the protective fencing looks like and how it works.

A new era in elephant keeping

Zoo Zurich’s six elephants have been living in the Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park since the middle of March. This has given them plenty of time to get used to all the innovative features of their new environment. Firstly, they have six times as much room as they did before, as well as several different watering holes for swimming and bathing. The new park offers the elephants a lot more opportunities for moving around in different ways, and enables them to live together naturally as a family group. Secondly, the way in which the animal keepers look after the elephants has also changed. The animals are now cared for in “protected contact” at all times. This means that the animal keepers are no longer in the same room as the elephants. This gives the animals more freedom to develop their social structure and ensures greater security for the animal keepers.