The trip focused on Schönbrunn Zoo as well as the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology (FIWI) and the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology (KLIVV) at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna.
The group set off on Sunday evening, traveling from Osnabrück to Hanover, where they boarded the night train to Vienna. After arriving and making a brief stop at the hotel, they headed straight to Schönbrunn Zoo, the world’s oldest zoo (founded in the year 1752). The walk there, leading through the magnificently landscaped palace gardens past the impressive Palm House, set the stage for the historical significance of the zoo grounds. Inside the zoo, the participants explored the enclosures and gave short presentations on selected endangered animal species. In doing so, the students learned a lot about the animals' biology and their conservation status. Together with the students, Professor Touma analysed and discussed the requirements for animal welfare, friendly husbandry as well as modern species conservation strategies for various animal groups at Schönbrunn Zoo.
The following day focused on practical aspects of animal husbandry, species conservation and research in zoological gardens. The curator for species conservation reported on Schönbrunn Zoo’s contributions to the ex situ breeding of endangered species, its support for in situ conservation projects, and the reintroduction of endangered species such as the bald ibis, which must learn the migration routes to its wintering grounds. A particular highlight was the behind-the-scenes visit in the elephant house. The participants of the excursion had the opportunity to observe the training session for the African elephants at very close range. The training serves both for medical health checks and as essential mental stimulation for these impressive animals. In a subsequent meeting with the veterinarian for wildlife and zoo animals, the curator for species conservation, and the head of the zoo’s education department, the students were able to ask questions and engage in a discussion regarding zoo animal husbandry, the implementation of in situ and ex situ species conservation, the educational mission of zoos and different career paths. Furthermore, enthusiastic researchers offered insights into some of the diverse and exciting research projects at Schönbrunn Zoo. For instance, they explained why the well-camouflaged brown Asian common toad suddenly turns bright yellow during the mating season and why the so-called foot-flagging frog actually flags with its feet.
On the third day of the excursion, the group visited the FIWI and the KLIVV, where they were introduced to further career paths for biologists and gained firsthand impressions in the pathology department and at the wildlife enclosures. The students learned about the German-Austrian project "wildLIFEcrime", which systematically tracks issues like poaching and intentional poisoning of wildlife. They also had the opportunity to take a look at the wildlife pathology department, where the pathologists used impressive exhibits to illustrate human-induced problems affecting wildlife, such as injuries caused by traps or the impact of introduced parasites. Afterwards, the participants had the opportunity to get up close with a group of hand-reared red deer and learned about research projects focusing on the perception and memory of native dormice species (including the European edible dormouse and the hazel dormouse). To conclude the excursion, Prof. Dr. med. vet. Rupert Palme gave a presentation on the non-invasive monitoring of stress hormones from faecal samples of domestic and wild animals.
The night train finally brought everyone back to Osnabrück early Thursday morning; the group was somewhat exhausted from the journey, yet filled with a wealth of impressions and valuable insights into modern animal husbandry concepts, species conservation, animal welfare, and education in zoological gardens.
