How Polar Bears Will Keep the Elephants Warm at the Oregon Zoo

Zoos areweird places . You have bastard safari next to fake tundra next to fake rain forest — all separated by a glass and concrete and a few feet of space . At the Oregon Zoo , anew energy planmanages to both subvert and dead substantiate the zoo ’s artificial ecology : The spare high temperature from the pivotal beat habitat will keep Asian elephant ardent .

The new heating system , which the zoo iscalling a “ slinky”because of its shape , is an underground geothermic loop topology . Excess heat from the zoo ’s polar bear showing will be absorbed by the fluid inside a coil of pipes ending underneath the 32,000 - square - foot Forest Hall , where Asian elephants are housed in an indoor “ timber . ” This , along with a few other vitality tweak , are supposed to cut Forest Hall ’s glasshouse gas expelling by 40 percent .

On one hired man , this seems like an ingenious expert solution — a win - profits for the comforts of the polar bear and the elephant , not to mention the zoo ’s muscularity bill . On the other , it reveals just how deep contrived a zoo is , where the conditions of the “ Arctic ” is right away tied to that of the “ forest . ” A manmade energy cycle connects two manmade climates , colligate two animals who unremarkably do n’t even belong at the same latitude . [ Oregon Zoo ]

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