Large northern critters in more temperate climates

Daktari JG

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
I'm no engineer and I know that with enough money you can do anything (like build a ski resort in the middle of Dubai), but I wonder if there are any relatively less inexpensive ways of displaying large northern animals in much more temperate climates to make them more comfortable in like 90 -100 degree summers?
Some animals seem to do better at adapting -like say snow leopards
and polar bears seem to do OK with large chilled pools.
But what about like say musk ox or wild yak or even saiga (though they also like to smash themselves into walls,

Would like lowering an exhibit like 10-15 ft from ground level create a large enough cooling sink if it was say 1/2 an acre? Would any sort of geothermal air exchange do any good Or solar chimneys? or
evaporative cooling chimneys? Would any of these or other gimmicks be suitable for an outdoor exhibit?
I know you could build a half acre barn like structure and air condition it, but that would seem to be pretty damn expensive. But I don't know, maybe not that far out of line.
Any thoughts
 
I am no engineer as well, but all of these sounds like very nice ideas (some of which I had never heard before doing a bit of research), I too wonder how anyone would be able to implement them.

The solar chimney combined with geothermal air exchange (I presume you are referring to the earth–air heat exchanger (EAHE)?) sounds like something that could be highly beneficial to drastically reduce the electricity bill and carbon footprint of a facility, but I'm unsure if it would be suitable for an outdoor exhibit, as it seems a technique used for cooling down interiors.

I'm thinking that maybe a combination of: well shaded enclosure planted with trees that retain heat and do not release too much humidity, a cooling sink and a solar chimney disguised within the enclosure could be a suitable solution, or at least a trial...

You also need to take into consideration the biology and husbandry of each species: I've heard (so take my reply with a grain of salt) that musk oxes do not do well in humid climates, even if the temperatures are close to those of their home range.

I have never heard of evaporative cooling chimneys and had difficulty finding something about them, would you mind elaborating?
 
Snow Leopards are tolerant to high temperatures, as the Himalayan slopes may be very hot. One can go to the same conclusion with most large mountain animals.

I know that Saiga doesn't tolerate the humid climates. It may thrive in hot dry climates but I haven't got any accurate information about it.

Finally I add that animals that live in cool environments like the Red Panda are kept with success in Indonesian and Singaporean zoos.
 
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