Eastern Quoll - Gondwanaland, Leipzig, 02/09/11

Just been leafing through the Gondwanaland book, a special edition of a local history magazine I believe.

This is a brilliant book (for it does feel like a softback book, not a magazine) written in a very readable light-hearted style; effectively a detailed guidebook to the exhibit. There is a very nice line in humour cutting through the book; for example, the sound of a Giant Otter is described as 'an inimitable mix of a metal fork scraping on a plate, chalk on a blackboard and high-pitched teenager shrieking'.

It's a brilliant read and contains a lot of interesting nuggets; not least the fact that Sun Bears were dropped from the plans partly for space reasons, partly because 'it would not have possible to get the plants that were on the wishlist' (!).

What brings me to this thread is this excerpt from the overview of the animal line-up:

...at the planning stage we already examined how we could meet not only the expectations of the visitors pouring through the doors but also those of the experts...

...While your average zoo visitor will probably pass by the enclosure of the Australian Eastern Quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) quickly and without a second thought if the animals have not come out, that is exactly where experts travelling from far and wide will set up camp to get a glimpse of this prized zoo animal.

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They know us too well! The text then goes on to suggest that more mainstream zoo visitors will be happier watching the squirrel monkeys and ASCOtters.

Isn't it good to feel we're all catered for?

Maguari said:

They know us too well! The text then goes on to suggest that more mainstream zoo visitors will be happier watching the squirrel monkeys and ASCOtters.

Isn't it good to feel we're all catered for?

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It would appear they know us to well

zoogiraffe said:

It would appear they know us to well

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I do like how they call us people who would travel halfway across Europe to see a quoll the rather flattering 'experts' rather than the probably more appropriate 'nutters'.

kiang said:

I am very interested in the process of acquiring these animals, i thought there was great difficulty involved in importing Australian animals, but by the looks of it a process well worth possibly years of preparation.

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I don't know how complicated it was, but the animals that went to Australia in exchange were a group of that great zoo rarity - the coati.

Very good recent news: 6 Eastern Quolls born at Gondwanaland!!!!!

That's brilliant news! Thanks for the update!

Maguari said:

It's a brilliant read and contains a lot of interesting nuggets; not least the fact that Sun Bears were dropped from the plans partly for space reasons, partly because 'it would not have possible to get the plants that were on the wishlist' (!).

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Out of curiosity what were other species that were considered for Gondwanaland and rejected?

In reading earlier threads on its development and construction, I think Sumatran rhinos and clouded leopards were in the original plans also?

DavidBrown said:

Out of curiosity what were other species that were considered for Gondwanaland and rejected?

In reading earlier threads on its development and construction, I think Sumatran rhinos and clouded leopards were in the original plans also?

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The only other ones I've found specifically mentioned in the book besides bears, rhinos and leopards are Caribbean Manatees and (oddly) Prevost's Squirrels - I can understand manatees being awkward but the squirrels would not seem to be either too space-hungry or too difficult to obtain.

Maguari said:

The only other ones I've found specifically mentioned in the book besides bears, rhinos and leopards are Caribbean Manatees and (oddly) Prevost's Squirrels - I can understand manatees being awkward but the squirrels would not seem to be either too space-hungry or too difficult to obtain.

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Thanks Maguari for the information.

It does seem very odd that squirrels would be rejected. They seem to be very common in American zoos. To return to the subject of this thread, maybe they will get the Eastern quoll exhibit if the quolls can't sustain themselves over time.

The Sumatran rhinos seem like they would be unobtainable given their rarity and need to try and get them to breed in their own range. You explained their reason for rejecting bears. I wonder why the leopards were excluded? Given the scale of this building it doesn't seem like it would be difficult to give them lushly planted vertical space...

sooty mangabey said:

I don't know how complicated it was, but the animals that went to Australia in exchange were a group of that great zoo rarity - the coati.

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Then it was a fair trade! Coatis are practically non-existent "down under", while quolls can be seen at even some of the smaller wildlife parks and are of course native to Australia. When I toured 14 Aussie zoos in 2007 I was astonished at how common animals such as bilbies, koalas, Tassie devils, etc, were and how rare species such as coatis were. It is quite extraordinary to see the zoos in that nation, as countless animals are found nowhere else and yet creatures that us zoo nerds take for granted aren't even allowed in the country! For instance, as of last year Australia was left with a single flamingo at Adelaide Zoo and there is little prospect of any more arriving in the future.