Spectacled leafnoses no longer live in Schönbrunn Zoo. The bats from South America have multiplied too much in the zoo, so a switch to another species was necessary. That’s what the zoo said on Tuesday when asked. Around 600 animals were given to other zoological gardens as part of the changeover. Remaining individuals were fed to snakes or frozen.
Fed to giant snakes
“We also removed animals and added them to the zoo’s natural food cycle and, for example, fed them to our scaly pythons and also deep-frozen them for future feeding,” the zoo said in a statement. Scaly pythons are the rarest giant snakes in the world. Rats and mice are otherwise bred for them because they need meat as food. In the wild, bats are also among their prey. With the decision to feed the spectacled leafnoses, the zoo was able to ensure an adequate source of food for the reptiles.
Strong reproduction in the rainforest house
The spectacled leaf-nosed bats lived as a large group in the bat cave in the rainforest house in the zoo. The species is originally native to South America and has since multiplied rapidly. The zoo said that appropriate “population management measures” had already been taken in 2018. Long before the general renovation of the rainforest house that is currently taking place.
400 males castrated
Around 400 males were castrated in order to curb the colony’s massive growth. However, the employees were not able to find all the males in the natural caves because it is not a closed system. Some animals also lived outside the cave in the spacious rainforest house. Despite great efforts, the number of animals could not be limited.
So the management of the zoo decided that a switch to another bat species was unavoidable. The new species must be easier to control in terms of reproduction. There have been no more spectacled leaf noses in Schönbrunn since August 2023. The renovated rainforest house is scheduled to reopen in 2025 with a new concept.
ePaper
