CASE STUDIES
Giraffe benefit from the height of air con
T
hree young giraffe are settling into their new quarters near Bristol, a new £1m state-of-the-art home kept toasty warm by Toshiba variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heat pump-based air conditioning units, installed by Just Air Conditioning.
The three giraffe, Gerry, Tom and Dayo, are the latest attractions to arrive at the Wild Place Project, a new venture established by Bristol Zoological Society in South Gloucestershire. The family outdoor adventure park houses wildlife from the UK and across the world and, in addition to giraffe, has lemurs of Madagascar and grey wolves of Europe.
The giraffe enclosure was built following an appeal that attracted support from the public and corporate sponsors. The purpose-built home, which stands on nearly two acres, was constructed by Keynsham-based firm Dribuild. The enclosure is equipped with a heat pump-based Toshiba SMMS-e two-pipe VRF
system, specified by Toshiba T7 partner Just Air Conditioning, and includes four ceiling-suspended indoor units in addition to three wall-mounted units.
Wayne Raven, who headed the project for Just Air Conditioning, said: “The ceiling-suspended units had to be located above the public viewing balcony to ensure they were out of reach of the giraffe, which can grow up to 18 feet tall.” He explained: “The system is locked into heating mode, as its key function is to maintain comfortable temperatures for the giraffe when ambient conditions fall at night and in the autumn and winter seasons.”
Visitors can walk into the viewing area on the ground floor, which can accommodate up to 30 people, and watch the giraffe from just a few feet away.
The site’s zebra and eland have been moved to a new house just next door, and share the watering hole with the new residents.
Nigel Simpson, head of operations at Wild Place Project, commented: “The giraffe have all settled in well and have adapted to life at Wild Place. People think the house is great, and we are getting lots of positive feedback.” The giraffe house is linked to a new field conservation project aimed at saving one of the few remaining populations of Central African giraffe left in the wild.
Experts from Bristol Zoological Society travelled to Cameroon to begin a research project to map their habitat and conduct a population census of the remaining Kordofan giraffe using drones.
Wild giraffe numbers have fallen from 140,000 to less than 80,000 in just 15 years. There are now fewer giraffe left in the wild than African elephants. The team hopes to establish whether there is a sustainable population of this threatened subspecies which they can work with to conserve and help save from extinction.
Axair
www.acr-news.com November 2017 61
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
