Cougar Fitness - Zoo's salmon toy that keeps cougars hunting
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For cat lovers, it's a familiar scene: the twitching tail, the folded-back ears and then
... pounce.
Watching a cat on the hunt is always exhilarating, but especially when it weighs over 10 stone.
At Oregon Zoo, staff have come up with a new device to keep their cougars fit and healthy.
Some people call it the salmon slinger. Some people call it the cougar-ciser. We've got
a garage door spring covered with a PVC pipe, and then at the bottom we attach a frozen
salmon and on top we attach it to a zipline.
It was durable enough that a 150 pound cat could pull against it, yet flexible enough
to move away from him and allow some resistance so the cats can kind of fight with their meal.
The physical stimulation is really important for the animals. It keeps them healthy and
active, but in addition to that, it gives them a lot of mental stimulation and it really
kicks in a lot of those innate behaviours.
Zookeepers also hide food under trees and logs, spray animal scents and even walk goats
through the enclosure to leave a trail. It's all designed to keep the cougars stimulated
and encourage them to work for their food.
