The lions and tigers of the Isle of Wight Zoo have been surprised with a tyre-ific treat as Cowes Yacht Haven donated new toys to their enclosures last week.
The three large tyres are normally found on the marina's boat hoist but were replaced with new ones earlier this year. Rather than recycle them in a traditional way, the Isle of Wight marina looked to local businesses on the island to see where they could be best put to use.
Jon Pridham, managing director of Cowes Yacht Haven, said: "A few years ago we came up with the idea of donating our tyres to the zoo and we have enjoyed seeing the tigers get a thorough workout from playing with them. The Isle of Wight Zoo brings happiness to many Isle of Wight visitors, and our community, so it is a pleasure to give something back."
These tyres will be used in the redesigned enclosure for one of the zoo's resident lionesses, Nahla. The new enclosure is currently under construction, but once completed Nahla will really be able to get her teeth into the new toys.
Jon continued: “I volunteered to drop the tyres off at the zoo but thankfully they didn't ask me to retrieve the old ones out of the enclosure myself!"
The Isle of Wight Zoo is currently home to four inquisitive and lively tigers and three African lions, many of which have come to the zoo from different backgrounds, including the circus. Whilst taking care of the tigers, the zoo also works to educate and protect this endangered species through its Tiger Conservation project.
Charlotte Corney, Director of the Isle of Wight Zoo said: “Unfortunately nipping to the local pet shop to buy toys for mega predators isn’t really an option. Finding indestructible toys can be a real challenge so we are hugely grateful to Cowes Yacht Haven for the donation of these giant tyres. We take an holistic approach to caring for the physical and mental wellbeing of our animals and this sort of enrichment seems to go down very well; I’m sure our big cats will relish the opportunity to mock kill a Boeing 737 tyre!”
To find out more about the Isle of Wight Zoo, and its work, visit: http://www.isleofwightzoo.com
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