2023-09-15 07:58:00
These are not necessarily the animals you want to see when you visit the zoo. In the Wels Zoo, however, it can happen that rats run into your feet in broad daylight. The rat plague there is not new, but it is particularly bad at the moment. The rodents find optimal living conditions here, even paradisiacal conditions: there is a huge supply of food, the mill stream that flows through the zoo also attracts the animals and there are plenty of opportunities for the dreaded disease carriers to hide. The mild winters also contribute to their reproduction.
Not easy to bait
In order to get the problem under control, the most extensive measures to date are being taken with a pest controller to decimate the rat population. “This includes a wide variety of means and traps, which of course have to be ensured that they do not endanger zoo animals,” says zoo officer, city councilor Thomas Rammerstorfer (Greens). Around 8,000 euros will be spent on the measures. Pest controllers will hunt rats in the zoo until November and then return every few weeks.
Rats are considered to be very cautious, are not easily baited and quickly understand when they don’t get the supposed treat.
Rat-proof feeding tables
Of course, attempts are also being made to control the plague using defensive means, says Rammerstorfer. For example, special rat-proof feeding tables were designed where the food scattered by birds falls into a grid and is no longer accessible to the rats. “Despite our attempts, our successes have so far been limited,” says Rammerstorfer.
The rat plague is particularly evident following heavy rain, which drives the animals out of their holes and hiding places. They are also increasingly losing their fear of people.
Visitors even feed them
Some zoo visitors also do their part to make it easy for the animals to get food by leaving food scraps behind. Some even feed the rats, which thwarts all of the zoo employees’ efforts.
This year is likely to be a particularly strong year for rats, because, according to Rammerstorfer, there are also complaints from citizens of the Neustadt. Rat sightings are also being reported more frequently in the “Arche Wels” animal shelter, and the animals there are also attracted to full food bowls.
A few years ago, a student from the University of Salzburg even dedicated her bachelor’s thesis to the rat population in the Wels Zoo.
“The zoo will never be completely rat-free,” zoo officer Rammerstorfer is under no illusions. “But we do expect the situation to improve significantly.”
Author
Michaela Krenn-Aichinger
Local editor Wels
Michaela Krenn-Aichinger
1694766666
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