Fire Hose Enrichment for Tigers
Posted at 9:27 am November 30, 2005 by Bridget Mulholland
The keepers in Tiger River recently spent quite a bit of time weaving some new enrichment devices for the tigers: a hammock made out of old fire hose and a cube of woven fire hose pieces. A few months ago we received 20 rolls of used fire hose from San Diego Fire Station #20 in Point Loma. The fire hose was old enough that the fire station couldn’t use it anymore, but it was perfect for the tigers!
We started making a hammock right away, but because our days are so busy taking care of the animals, we were only able to fit about 30 minutes of work on the hammock every once in a while. After 2 months we were finally finished, and we hung it in one of the tiger bedrooms behind the scenes. At first the tigers didn’t know what to make of it, and one of our females, Danai, was actually a little bit afraid of it. The hammock moved whenever she tried to step into it! Eventually all of the tigers got used to it and Awang, the cubs’ dad, seems to really enjoy it (see him lounging in the photo below!).
Two weeks ago, we moved Mata and Rimba, our 6-month-old cubs, and their mom, Mek, out of the maternity ward where they have been living ever since the cubs’ birth in June, into the adult bedrooms on the other side of the tiger compound. This has been very exciting for the young boys, as they now have visuals of their dad Awang, and also of Belang and Danai, our 12-year-old male and female. There are also lots of new smells and new toys and furniture, including the hammock! Rimba (top photo) took to the hammock immediately, and like his dad, spends a lot of time in it. Mata, on the other hand, still has not figured out how to get into it, and cries sometimes when his brother sleeps in it with Mek. Mata has been smaller than Rimba since birth, so I know he’ll get into the hammock as soon as he’s big enough.
Knowing that Mata needed some sort of fire hose toy that he could actually use right away, we quickly made a heavy cube hung from a chain that he could bite and scratch.
Bridget Mulholland is a senior mammal keeper at the Zoo’s Tiger River exhibit.
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November 30th, 2005 at 10:34 am
I loved the pictures here of the tigers enjoying their new fire hose hammock. Thank you for sharing the story of the new toys and how the tigers are reacting. And thank you for keeping up all the work in thinking of new things to keep the tigers’ lives rich.
November 30th, 2005 at 7:16 pm
Thanks for the fascinating update, Bridget. So many of the zoo’s animals enjoy their hammocks, from the tiny gennets and fennecs to the orangutans, and it’s great that the tigers also have theirs. Give our thanks also to Fire Station #20. What a wonderful way to recycle!!
December 1st, 2005 at 7:37 am
Okay, now that’s just not fair. Awang, you look just too darned comfy in that hammock – all that’s missing is a pillow and blanket. Wish I was ” lounging” like you instead of sitting here at my desk. And look at the face on Rimba – oh my gosh how cute!!!! Thanks for the great pictures and updates.
December 1st, 2005 at 5:21 pm
Oh my!!
They are SO adorable!! I love your account of how little Mata cries when he sees his brother in the hammock with mom…just too sweet. And boy does Awang know how to enjoy life, huh?! Thanks so much…it’s very moving to feel your care for these animals. The extra time and work you’ve put in these two months, just for making this hammock, really shows your love.
December 3rd, 2005 at 2:28 pm
How adorable! Thank you for the behind the scenes looks at these beautiful animals.
December 15th, 2005 at 1:13 pm
Thanks for the hammock tip in the Panda blog. Yes, I have to admit, I also love CATS! I have 2 domesticated household cats, but wow, these are lovely animals. I guess that’s why I love the big ‘bear cats’ (giant panda) so much. Love those faces! I wanna snuggle next to that big boy on the hammock (if only it was safe!)
March 15th, 2006 at 6:29 am
more info please
May 4th, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Hi ,
My name is Lauren and I, like a lot of people, love Tigers. I think it’s really cool that ya’ll help out the Tigers at the zoo because as I’ve heard ,and you probably have too, they’re going extinct. So it really is cool what ya’ll are doing.
Keep up the good work, and by the way I think a lot of people would be interested if ya’ll put in a tiger ”cam”.
Love,
Lauren Johnson
Burlision Tx
September 1st, 2006 at 6:21 am
Do you have the instructions for making the hammock? I work at a small
big cat sanctuary and I am always looking for great ideas for enrichment!
The hammock looks AWESOME ! ! !
November 17th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
Are there instructions? I volunteer at a BIG cat Sanctuary in the Midwest and have access to old fire hoses. That would be wonderful to make for Bobcats/Lynx also.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:26 am
The tiger hammock looks like a great idea!! I sponsor a Siberian Tiger and have seen nothing like it at my local tiger rescue center. Would you please either email me or post the instructions on how you constructed yours? Thank you SO much for the wonderful and creative idea!
January 17th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Hi, Iwork at the Tijuana Zoo and i want to make some hammocks for our animals, like spider monkeys at there new exhibit, our jaguars, and other animals, can you tell me how to make theme or if theres a link to a web page for instructions. thank you very much.
sincerely Arturo Alcantar
Tijuana Zoo
From Bridget: The size of the hammock is 4ft. by 8ft. We used 3” firehose for the longer pieces and 2 ½” firehose for the shorter pieces. We cut each strip of firehose approximately 6” longer than the desired size of the hammock, so there would be enough extra to fold and secure along the edges. We used hexagonal bolts (7/16ths by 1 ½”) with two washers for each (one on each side of the hammock) to secure the pieces, and a large eyebolt on each corner for hanging.
We started making the hammock by securing a rectangular “frame” of firehose. We then bolted all of the longer pieces to the shorter edges of the frame. All of those pieces were folded down and secured. We then started to weave the shorter pieces of firehose through the long pieces and securing the ends (alternating folding one down and then the next one up). When all pieces were secure, we used an electric grinder to take off the excess of each bolt.
I hope this isn’t too confusing. It really is a simple design, but it is definitely time consuming to make!
October 19th, 2009 at 6:22 am
I am interested in possibly making these hammocks for this purpose or others, but haven’t developed the network for it. Does anyone know how I can get in contact with people who might be interested in this type of thing? Thanks.
Ben Petry