Edinburgh Zoo – Tiger Enclosure Heating

The Challenge

As part of the Big Cat Strategy, Edinburgh Zoo invested in a new enclosure for a breeding pair of endangered Sumatran tigers. The £0.5m “Tiger Tracks” habitat is three times larger than their old home and designed to replicate the warmth and comfort of the tigers’ native Indonesian environment.

To achieve this, the zoo required a reliable underfloor heating solution for the dens. The heating system needed to:

• Provide safe and consistent warmth year-round
• Mimic the natural climate conditions for the tigers
• Be durable enough for heavy-duty use in animal enclosures

Our Solution

Heat Mat worked with the zoo’s electrical engineers and wholesaler Ross Electrical to deliver a tailored underfloor heating system.

System specifications:

• 200W underfloor heating mats installed on top of concrete plinths, beneath bonded sand and soil
• NGTouch thermostats for simple and intelligent temperature control
• Heating provided in three dens (sizes 1.87 m² – 7.84 m²) plus a cubbing box
• Outputs per zone:
  • Cubbing box – 310W
  • Den 1 – 1,438W
  • Den 2 – 1,291W
  • Den 3 – 1,291W

The Result

The new Tiger Tracks enclosure opened in June 2016 and has been praised as a state-of-the-art, immersive environment for both visitors and animals.

• Comfort & welfare: The tigers, Baginda and Jambi, enjoy heated dens and outdoor heated rocks, encouraging natural behaviours year-round.
• Conservation impact: With fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, supporting captive breeding is vital. Providing warm, enriched enclosures increases welfare and breeding success.
• Proven performance: Zoo electricians emphasised the reliability of Heat Mat solutions, noting the success of previous installations for meerkats, pandas, monkeys, tapirs, and lions.

“We wanted to use the market leaders in underfloor electric heating and the zoo keepers prefer to keep to the same suppliers once the first system had been proven.”
— Stephen McNamee, Senior Electrician, Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh-Zoo-Tiger-Enclosure-Heating.pdf