Dartmoor Zoo have teamed up with Devon Contract Waste (DCW) and Olives Et Al to provide some unique, olive barrel enrichment for their Amur Tiger; Dragan.
Animal welfare is Dartmoor Zoo’s top priority and enrichment is a great way for the keepers to ensure our animals are active, being challenged, utilising multiple senses and keeping their habitats interesting via hidden food, scent enrichment and in this case…giant olive barrels!
This innovative use of the barrels happened as a result of Dartmoor Zoo’s partnership with DCW who first look to repurpose and reuse unwanted items before recycling, ensuring more sustainable solutions that are further up the waste hierarchy. In this case, DCW asked another customer, Olives Et Al, a Dorset based, British Artisan Olive company to consider an interesting alternative to recycling for their olive barrels – a new lease of life as a big cat’s play toy!
Olives Et Al’s Head of Business Development Lewis Slayden commented: “I think it’s the first time we’ve seen our old barrels repurposed like this – makes a change from water butts and the team here are all happy to know some of our old barrels are going to a really good use.”
So, why olive barrels? Olives Et Al’s Co-Founder Giles Henschel Commented: “Well, they’re about the same size as wild boar or small deer which are common prey for tigers, they’re very solid and
bouncy and they have similar colourings to themselves. Besides, they still smell of olives which will be a very interesting scent for a tiger, that’s for sure!”
A resident of Dartmoor Zoo since June 2016, Dragan is an incredibly well known and much-loved member of the Dartmoor Zoo family. With less than 500 Amur Tigers left in the wild, the IUCN Red List considered this species Endangered, so to be able to raise awareness, not only about our recycling initiatives, but about our conservation efforts, it seemed only right that Dragan was the perfect brand ambassador for the job!
Amur Tigers can weigh in at a hefty 180kg or so, therefore Dragan is not your average domestic cat, however, he still loves to play like one! Our keepers use this instinct to design activities that give him mental and physical stimulus, keeping him fit and active. Where a domestic cat will be happy chasing a ball of string or toy mouse, Dragan’s toys need to be a bit tougher! Used olive barrels are perfect for this! Our keepers can hide food or highly scented material, then; Dragan needs to use all his cunning and strength to get at the rewards inside. In the process he will exercise both his muscles and brain which is just what we want.
General Manager for DCW Grant Scott commented: “Partnering with our customers to find sustainable solutions for dealing with unwanted items is the bedrock of our operation but toys for tigers is an absolute first and we think it’s a grrrreat idea!
DCW always looks to find solutions for waste products that make the least possible impact on our environment and reusing and repurposing products in their original condition is always our first consideration – so this is a wonderful outcome.”
Dartmoor Zoo’s Maintenance Manager Stuart Franklin commented: “When you work closely with endangered species, you become keenly aware of how negatively man’s economic activities can impact on every ecosystem. It is hugely important to get multiple uses out of every resource, and this plays a fundamental role in our green initiatives on site. This was the driving factor behind
implementing our partnership with DCW and the Dartmoor Zoo team are very excited about what the recycling future holds!”
To find out more about Dartmoor Zoo visit www.dartmoorzoo.org.uk
If you are interested in forming a partnership with Dartmoor Zoo, please email marketing@dartmoorzoo.co.uk
To gift a donation towards Dartmoor Zoo and their conservation work, please visit https://dartmoorzoo.digitickets.co.uk/category/61052?navItem=791764