@AWP The Desert really opened in 1994, in 1995 they changed the Safari to a walking route instead of a Safari train, so the map was most probably made in 1994...
@lintworm I think you are right about the year. I visited Burgers' in 1995 on a "schoolreisje" and somewhat earlier with my parents. Probably this map is from the visit with my parents (in 1994, not 1995), because I'm sure that at that visit we went to the newly opened Desert and took the safari train. First time I visited the walking safari was in 1998.
One of the small mammals in the first years of the Desert was the "ruilrat", but I have no idea which species this actually was. A "ruilrat" once featured in a Donald Duck comic, but that all I know about this rodent.
The most interesting species Burgers' lost around 1994 was the white-bellied pangolin, to my opinion. It was a confiscated animal, that arrived at Schiphol Airport from Togo along with two pottos. At first it was kept in Rotterdam, but after some time it moved to Arnhem.
The pottos on the other hand stayed in Rotterdam for several years, until the closure of the nocturnal house. The remaining one went to Artis and it's still around in the Small Mammal House (but rarely shows).
@AWP The pangolin indeed died in 1994 (I somehow remembered 1992...) It is still the longest living individual of that species in Europe, though it has been surpassed by American animals by now
After a bit of a search, I found out what kind of rodent the "ruilrat" of Burgers' was: the white-throated woodrat (Neotoma albigula), also known as "pack rat". According to Wikipedia a peculiar characteristic is that if they find something they want, they will drop what they are currently carrying and "trade" it for the new item.
