Gondwanaland!

So here it is, my post about Gondwanaland!

It was absolutely incredible and I was in complete awe the entire time - so much so that I went round twice!

Gondwanaland gets it name from the supercontinent formed 200 million years ago. 16,500 square feet encloses hundreds of plant and animal species representing Asia, Africa and South America. With the highest point of the dome being 34 metres high, the plants have lots of growing room, and birds can fly freely. The dome allows UV to pass through, vital for survival of the plants and animals inside, and Gondwanaland is energy efficient, with thermal energy produced from waste air being used to heat the place at night. Gondwanaland opened on 30 June 2011, and since then, the plants have certainly grown into the space available!

Upon entry to Gondwanaland, you are greeted with a long tunnel featuring many weird and wonderful creatures. Beginning with Australian lungfish, I then passed to the Eastern quoll - they were running around minding their own business, which was really cool to see. After the Eastern quoll, I spotted a slow loris making its way around the branches. Now we all know the issues surrounding these guys in the illegal exotic pet trade, so it was warming to see the slow loris exhibiting natural behaviour in an excellent zoological collection. Next, I watched in awe as a small Australian marsupial, the kowari munched on some lunch (day old chick, to be precise), and turned a corner to reach the end of the (nicely air conditioned) tunnel and finally found myself in Gondwanaland - the place I had heard so much about! 30 degree heat and 61% humidity slapped me right in the face as I entered this tropical wonderland, a truly immersive exhibit - I really felt as though I was in the rainforest. Before beginning my expedition, I hopped on the boat that took me on a journey down the river Gamanile. I was taken back in time to millions of years ago, watched species evolve, to end in the present day with an animation demonstrating the harsh reality of deforestation and the destruction of habitats. The boat meandered down the river, past the stunning komodo dragons and gave me a glimpse of the sheer size of Gondwanaland. At the end of the boat trip, the staff were super friendly and I was able to begin my expedition through the rainforest on foot. I noticed some 'open journals' dotted along the path, with 3 diary entries in 3 different languages, German, French and English. I was able to follow these along my journey. 

Open journal from Gondwanaland

As I began my climb through South America, to my left was a squirrel monkey island, where free ranging squirrel monkeys were running around in the trees and along the hand rails. To say that these guys are perfectly camouflaged would be an understatement - I almost didn't notice them in the canopy! Such an imaginative enclosure, I didn't even feel like I was in a zoo! I decided to leave the squirrel monkeys to it and climbed further, going through an amazonian passageway where a small ocelot was posing perfectly for a picture (that I didn't manage to take!) It was amazing to see this elusive cat out and about in a naturalistic enclosure, a rare sight! Going up again through the trees, I attempted to spot the two-toed sloth with no luck! But that was okay, because the next thing I saw was a group a giant otters swimming and playing in the water, whilst white faced saki monkeys were bounding around on the ropes above. 

Ocelot

Leaving South America, I headed into the primeval forests of Africa to see what I could find. I found a bat eared fox sat at the very back of it's enclosure, relaxing in the sun. Pretty much everyone glanced into the enclosure without even looking for this little guy, so I'm glad I spotted him (or her!) I noticed a suspension bridge and just had to get up on it. Known as the top of the trees path, it's not hard to see why - I was literally in the tree canopy! Being up there really emphasised how large this exhibit was and I was able to really appreciate all the work that has gone into making it so incredible. After my visit to the canopy, I was greeted with the pygmy hippo munching on some dinner, sharing an exhibit with Diana monkeys. I was then able to get face to face with the intriguing owl-faced monkey, foraging for tasty food alongside kirk's dik dik (the smallest antelope in Africa!) I loved the faces of the the owl faced monkey - it's clear how they got that name! You'll be able to spot these in my video of the zoo!

Treetop walk

I left Africa and entered Asia, encountering many weird and wonderful species during this third continent. I stopped by the fishing cat enclosure to find it very active, exploring its enclosure, seemingly unfazed by the public. I have seen this species before at Exmoor zoo, so it was nice to see them again at a different EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) collection. Another species of otter, the Asian short clawed otter was also a resident of Gondwanaland. They were all huddled together having a nap when I caught them - incredibly cute! The sunda wrinkled hornbill was next on my list of things to see, but like the sloth, I had no luck! Asia was home to many marine species, including the Malayan giant pond turtle, spotted pond turtle and yellow headed temple turtle, all unique and as amazing as each other. The sunda gharial (false gharial) was another sight to behold. I've seen this species at Chester Zoo as fully grown adults, but here at Leipzig, they were juveniles, with great colouring. I finished my journey through Asia with the beautiful Malayan tapir and Asian brown tortoise, before reaching the destination in the village of Mubaan. Throughout my trip, I encountered many free flying birds, including the incredibly pretty red fody from Mauritius, a tiny bird with striking colours.

Red fody standing out in the green rainforest

I particularly enjoyed the interactive signage and took every opportunity to twist, turn, press buttons, listen to and look through tiny holes to see pictures (the otter one was really good - a map with numbers, and small numbered holes that when looked through, showed pictures of each otter species. The corresponding picture related to the location of the otter on the map). There were lots of interactive, talking signs, with headphones and the information available in a range of different languages, really well suited to all who visited! The sounds whilst inside were so realistic that I genuinely thought it was raining outside - but it wasn't! It was the sound of the waterfalls and indoor rain to maintain humidity. That combined with the sounds of monkeys and birds again added to the immersive feel of this amazing exhibit, nothing like I have seen before. Chester Zoo's new island's expansion, features a biodome, the Monsoon Rainforest, a very similar concept to Gondwanaland, and I can't wait for all the plants to grow and to have a similar feel to Leipzig. 

I could have happily spent the whole day in there, but it was so incredibly hot and humid that I would have been a puddle on the floor! 

Gondwanaland was absolutely incredible and it was genuinely sad to leave. I felt like I learnt so much more about the natural world and really enjoyed wandering around on my own, taking in all the sights and sounds. I would love to visit again, bringing my zookeeper friends with me, and like I said in my last post, if you can go out there to visit, do it!

Asian short clawed otters having a sleepy afternoon!

(Where I stayed - Central Globetrotter Hostel, 5 min walk from the zoo. Friendly multi-lingual staff, free wifi and comfy beds! Couldn't recommend enough. 2 mins from the main train station and 5 mins from the centre of Leipzig).