Tiergarten Schönbrunn News from Schonbrunn

According to the contract the panda cubs will be transferred to China at the age of 2 years. Maybe, they will be allowed to stay longer at Vienna as there is free space available in the panda house now and Yang Yang is 16 now. She would be 19 when being in estrus again, so that would be too old for another cub.

I'm not sure what the Chinese are going to do. Long Hui has been frozen, Chinese experts will come to Vienna and do the necropsy with their Austrian collegues. And there is another "problem". The twins are 4 months old and have been in the tree hollow for 8 (!) weeks today, the definitly have no chance to get out there till they are strong enough to stand on their hind legs and climb up to the "entrance" of the tree hollow. The boy doesn't gain as much weight as his sister does. His sister is nursing immediatly when Yang Yang climbs into the small tree hollow, but the boy doesn't. The zoo refuses to put them out there - I really hate that sit-and-wait-approach.

Long Hui was looking pretty poor in September 2015. I talked to the keepers, they just said he is ok and old, I should not be worried and panic. Same in February. This September I saw him when he wanted to climb up to the top of the construction in the house. It was so hard for him to get up there, he was heavily breathing ... This Thursday late afternoon the zoo published a note the he was very sick. So I went to the zoo on Friday noon, wanted to talk to a keeper or the curator and ask how he is doing. When I arrived at the pandahouse, two zoodoc cars and a van with opened doors were in front of the panda house, some keepers were waiting next to the door and then I saw a wooden box on the floor - I was so shocked, really thought my heart breakes apart. A few minutes later the door was opened and Long Hui was carried out of the house on a rescue blanket and put into the wooden box. Then they put that box into the van ... a few hours later the zoo published that he passed away during the examination in the CT.

Some memories of Daddy Long Hui, at the end of the video you can see the wooden box in the van ...

 
Last edited:
Thanks for this news VC, exciting times indeed, for a very special reptile.
Second hatching worldwide in an accredited zoos. The species is certainly more widely distributed in zoos (as well as the private community beyond) than one would expect. It remains illegal to export them from range states.
 
Does anyone here know how accessible for good photos the Panda cubs might be? I have a fortnight off now and am considering a trip to include these and Munich's Polar Bear cub.
 
0.2 Reticulated Giraffe have arrived from Rotterdam
They should be held at the temporary accomodation on property next to the zoo whilst their current exhibit is completely renovated and expanded.

Update from a visit earlier in the week:
The new Winterhaus for them looks great. It seems there is also space for another enclosure inside the exhibit for seemingly bird or primate species (at the front of the zoo/giraffe exhibit, but there was no information what it would be).
 
AFAIK they haven't arrived yet, they will arrive just before the opening of the new giraffe house/enclosure on May 10. Kimbar, Rita and Carla will stay at the enclosure outside the zoo. only the two new girls will move into the new house.
 
Back
Top