Okay, I will be the first to admit that if there were an interactive opportunity to feed tigers, I would take it. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that the Siberian Tiger Park in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province is so popular. The park offers tourists the opportunity to get up close and personal with Siberian tigers through a unique feeding activity. However, it appears that the tigers have been enjoying the food too much. After a feeding surge following their Spring Festival tourism peak, these tigers were placed on an intermittent fasting diet.
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Siberian Tigers Are Placed On Intermittent Fasting Diet After Feeding Surge
The Global Times shared that “Nearly 200 Siberian tigers at the Siberian Tiger Park in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province have been put on a rotational ‘intermittent fasting program.'” Officials claim that this program aims to improve the tigers’ overall health.
This program is being initiated due to the feeding surge caused by mass tourism at the park. With increased visitors comes increases in the tiger feeding activity. While I am sure the tigers are not complaining about receiving extra meat sticks, experts worried about the impact it would have on the animals’ health.
Therefore, in an attempt to combat overfeeding the animals, the park has implemented a rotational intermittent fasting program for the tigers. Luckily for the tigers, their diet doesn’t last too long. According to a notice posted at the park’s entrance, this program runs from February 1 through March 31. Additionally, the rotation covers “11 free-range enclosures within the park.”
This means that not all of the Siberian tigers are fasting each day. Instead, there is “one designated enclosure placed on the official ‘fasting’ list each day.”
The Best Of Both Worlds
This new intermittent fasting program is proving beneficial for both the tigers and the tourists. While it manages the surge feeding for the tigers, having the rotation also ensures that visitors never miss an opportunity to feed the tigers.
As per the notice, the ban is specifically on “meat strip feeding in the day’s designated fasting enclosures.” This new diet comes after a surge of tourists flooded the NE China park. The Global Times shared that the influx of tourists was a result of China’s Spring Festival holiday period.
During this time, “The park received 7,708 visitor arrivals on February 17” alone. The following day, the daily visitor count surpassed 10,000. With that many visitors and the popularity of the tiger feeding experience, it is no wonder that the tigers were getting a bit overfed.
