Welt der Gifte (Salzburg) Welt der Gifte Salzburg - News and Discussion

[Batto]

Successful reopening. Non-stop tours from 9 am till almost 6 pm.

 

[Batto]

Another busy day. I think I should offer an externship...

 

[Batto]

Holiday Special:
Right on time for the local Salzburg holidays, WdG is going to be open from 10 am till 4 pm during next week. This will give our new extern, an animal keeper trainee from the local private Paracelsus Medical University, enough time to learn more about venomous & poisonous animal husbandry firsthand.
So if you, dear ZooChatter, happen to be in the neighbourhood (or in a closeby alpine country like @zoomaniac ), then feel free to visit.

 

[Batto]

So the first and final week of our very first animal keeper externship is over, with the conclusion: so far, so good. The extern, a young local woman, really enjoyed her time at WdG and wants to help out whenever she can.

 

[Batto]

Our exclusive newcomer:
Nils Kley on TikTok

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Our exclusive newcomer:
Nils Kley on TikTok

Very nice indeed - a pity I shall miss it when next in Austria, but it just gives me an extra thing to look forward to in future

 

[Batto]

Very nice indeed - a pity I shall miss it when next in Austria, but it just gives me an extra thing to look forward to in future

I hope our blue krait will present itself well during your next visit.

 

[Batto]

For the first time, we participated in this year's Museum Weekend, organized by the local museum association. So this sunday (which happened to be Mother's Day, cloudy & rainy), we opened WdG from 10 am till 5 pm, free of charge. The result was way better than expected: we got hundreds of guests, up to the point that visitors had to queque and we had to encourage people (as politely as possible) to leave to make room for the next wave.
In the end, the museum association officially confirmed that among the particapting institutions that day, we had achieved the highest attendance number.
While the business owner in me is crying when thinking about all the potential money we could have earned, the opportunistic optimist hopes that at least a few of those visitors will come back and pay for a guided tour...

 

[MRJ]

While the business owner in me is crying when thinking about all the potential money we could have earned, the opportunistic optimist hopes that at least a few of those visitors will come back and pay for a guided tour...

Sadly, I fear not. American research shows that the higher the discount offered by a museum, the less likely the user of that discount will make a paying visit later, and that visitors who come in for free are the least likely of all. Hopefully for you, Germans are different from Americans.

 

[Batto]

@MRJ: That's what I'm afraid of - and that’s why I charmingly insisted on not offering guided tours during the event (despite people firing questions at my staff and me non-stop).
I just hope that this event at least helped to booster our public visibility.

Hopefully for you, Germans [or in this case, Austrians] are different from Americans.

We had quite a bunch of foreign visitors as well on that day - including folks from Australia, Bulgaria, Bavaria, China, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Russia, Slowakia, South Africa, the UK, the Ukraine...I somehow doubt that those'll be back any time soon.

 

[MRJ]

@MRJ: That's what I'm afraid of - and that’s why I charmingly insisted on not offering guided tours during the event (despite people firing questions at my staff and me non-stop).
I just hope that this event at least helped to booster our public visibility.
We had quite a bunch of foreign visitors as well on that day - including folks from Australia, Bulgaria, Bavaria, China, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Russia, Slowakia, South Africa, the UK, the Ukraine...I somehow doubt that those'll be back any time soon.

Yes of course Austrians. I must admit that I have been to Saltsburg only once, a couple of hours one evening to change trains. The difference was not altogether noticeable to this Aussie. The number of foreign visitors is a good sign though, shows you may well have a good market amongst international tourists.

 

[Batto]

The difference was not altogether noticeable to this Aussie.

So - like the difference between Aussies and Kiwis?

The general popularity of Salzburg among international tourists (thanks to Mozart & the Alps) does help; and maybe also the temporary closure of HdN's reptile zoo due renovations.

 

[MRJ]

So - like the difference between Aussies and Kiwis?

Actually similar in many ways, not only language.

• Up until 1841, New Zealand was part of the British colony of New South Wales.
• New Zealand was a party to early negotiations for Federation in Australia, but withdrew.
• A clause in the Australian constitution gives New Zealand the right to join the Federation as a state.

I would think most casual visitors to Australia and New Zealand would be struck more by the similarities than the differences.

 

[Batto]

I would think most casual visitors to Australia and New Zealand would be struck more by the similarities than the differences.

Wheras the Austrians and Germans tend to accentuate their differences. Even more so depending on the federal states, with Upper Baviarians often being considered the most "acceptable" by Austrians due to certain similarities.

 

[Batto]

Current species list (June 2023)

Snakes:

Agkistrodon contortix
Aspidelaps lubricus lubricus
Bitis gabonica
Bothriechis schlegelii
Bothrops erythromelas
Bungarus candidus
Cerastes cerastes
Crotalus adamanteus
Crotalus ornatus
Crotalus pyrrhus
Crotalus vegrandis
Echis coloratus
Heterodon nasicus
Naja annulifera
Naja nivea
Naja siamensis
Naja sumatrana
Oxyuranus microlepidotus
Vipera ammodytes ammodytes
Vipera aspis
Vipera seoanei
Trimerusurus insularis
Trimerusurus purpureomaculatus
Xenodon pulcher

Euprepiophis mandarinus
Lampropeltis knoblochi
Lampropeltis ruthveni
Lampropeltis mexicanus x ruthveni
Pantherophis obsoletus "lindheimeri"

Lizards:

Heloderma suspectum
Heloderma exasperatum

Amphibians:

Dendrobates tinctorius "azureus"
Incilius alvarius
Phyllobates terribilis
Pleurodeles waltl
Rhinella marina
Taricha granulosa

Fish:

Corydoras aeneus
Corydoras sterbai
Platydoras armatulus
Tetraodon schouteni

Spiders:

Ceratogyrus cornuatus
Cupiennius salei
Latrodectus elegans, menavodi & tredecimguttatus
Lasiodora parahybana
Loxosceles laeta
Monocentropus balfouri
Sicarius terrosus

Scorpions:

Androctonus australis
Alpiscorpius germanus
Hadogenes bicolor
Hottentotta hottentotta
Hottentotta jayakari
Hottentotta judaicus
Hottentotta tamulus
Parabuthus villosus

Myriapoda:

Archispirostreptus gigas
Scolopendra subspinipes

Insects:

Archimandrita tesselata
Peruphasma schultei

Planned for 2023/2024

Amphiprion ocellaris
Dendroaspis angusticeps
Entacmaea quadricolor
Meiacanthus grammistes / smithi
Nephila sp.
(Ampulex compressa)
(Neoponera apicalis)

 

[Tim Brown]

Would just like to say how much Linda and myself enjoyed our visit to Welt Der Gifte a few weeks ago - in 910 zoos it was one of the most different and unique experiences I have had. And I would further say that Salzburg in general is not only rather lovely but a very decent zoological destination.

 

[Batto]

It was a pleasure to show you WdG @Tim - and an honour to be Zoo Nr. 910.

 

[Batto]

Six years ago, we opened WdG for the first time to the public, back then in a room in Greifswald, Germany. Thank you for your ongoing support and visits.

 

[pachyderm pro]

Five years ago, we opened WdG for the first time to the public, back then in a room in Greifswald, Germany. Thank you for your ongoing support and visits.

You would know better than me, but wasn't it six years ago? Regardless, congratulations on an amazing achievement.

 

[Batto]

You would know better than me, but wasn't it six years ago? Regardless, congratulations on an amazing achievement.

Five if you calculate in the hiatus due to relocation and the pandemic.