Whether tropical fish, reptiles or orangutans – they all love and need warm temperatures. Zoos need to heat aquariums, terrariums or animal houses. The energy crisis fuels costs.
Rostock (dpa / mv) – Galapagos giant tortoises feel pretty comfortable at 25 to 30 degrees. It shouldn’t be much colder – not even in Rostock, where they live far from their home in the Pacific near the entrance of the Darwineum in Rostock Zoo. The Darwineum with the 4,000 square meter tropical hall and the Polarium (12,500 square meters) are the largest energy consumers in the largest zoo in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where over 4,500 animals live.
The attitude in zoos and animal parks must meet the requirements of the various species, said zoo director Antje Angeli of the German Press Agency. “Energy is required to create the framework conditions appropriate to animal welfare, which are vital for some animal species.”
Heating is primarily provided by district heating from Stadtwerke Rostock; Electricity is only used selectively, for example for heat lamps in terrariums. According to this, a total of 500,000 euros will be incurred for district heating and gas in 2022. “As a precautionary measure, the annual plan for 2023 includes a cost increase of 30 percent for the heat supply,” said the zoo boss.
Added to this this year is 740,000 euros for the total electricity consumption. Due to a fixed contract up to and including 2024, rising costs are not to be expected here in the coming year. Basically, care is taken to save operating costs, and the consumption of water, electricity and gas is constantly checked. Overall, the situation remains tense.
“The energy crisis prompted us again to examine the individual areas in the Zoological Garden for potential energy savings and to develop concrete proposals for action,” said Angeli. For a short time, the temperatures in the animal houses were lowered to the minimum requirements. The same applies to the administration building, the visitor area and toilet facilities.
