Wilhelma Zoo New Australia House

The Wilhelma Zoo Stuttgart is converting its Former great ape House Into a Australia House.
Species that will be included are Queensland Koalas and tree kangaroos and some other australian animals.
Im looking Forward to the opening to Terra australis in autumm or Winter 2021.

 

If you have some questions feel Free to ask

 

Here you can read somthing about their Koalas, sorry it is in german


12.12.2018 - Mission Koala startet - Wilhelma

 

Thanks very much for your offer. I am interested to know how many koalas they have and also what other species they have in the house. For instance what species of tree kangaroo is it?

 

Goodfellow's seems most logical. There are hardly any Matschie's left in Europe and an other species would be very spectacular.

 

They have mentioned that they 4 Koalas that will arrive 2021.

Sorry i dosent know what Species of tree kangaroos will Go in to the new australia House, but i think it could be goodfellows tree kangaroos.

 

Has this exhibit opened to the public yet?

 

@Nix they Plan to Open it this Year. They have to wait until they can get their Koalas. Hopefully i can go to the Zoo in a few Weeks and tell you more about it.

 

It’s listed under the zoo’s projects for 2022:

Wilhelma and guests alike are looking forward to the planned Terra Australis. Here, charismatic animal species from down under should meet: above all koalas, but also tree kangaroos and some nocturnal species. The interior work on the gutted building shell of the former domicile of the great apes has begun. It is not yet certain when the animals will finally move in. The construction progress is influenced by factors such as supply chains, price developments and the situation of personnel, which are subject to constant fluctuations during the pandemic.

21.01.2022 - Rückblick 2021 und Ausblick - Wilhelma

 

The new Australian house, formerly the great ape house, will open around the end of July, an exact date isn't known yet. This depends on when exactly the koala arrive from Australia and can go out of quarantine.

The species line-up is proving to be exciting and wholly mammal-focused. The Wilhelma has one of the largest zoo collections in the world and there are plenty of rare birds and ectotherms. But until now the mammal department was sizeable but without many rarities. This will change as the following species have been confirmed for the Australia house:

- Koala (2.2 imported from Australia)
- Goodfellow's tree kangaroo (1.0 from Beauval (*2020) already arrived)

- Kowari (1.1 already arrived in 2022)
- Spinifex hopping mouse

- Eastern quoll
- Sugar glider
- Red rat kangaroo

But potentially more excitingly, there is an outdoor enclosure for an unspecified small kangaroo species and with the koala a second "secret" species will be imported from Australia. There has been talk of quokka being planned in the early stages, so who knows....

Additionally if greater bilby ever make it to Europe, they will come to Stuttgart too.

 

What is a "red rat kangaroo"?

 

Rufous bettong.

 

So according to ZTL, Wilhelma Zoo has recieved 1.1 brushtail possums from Plzen. However it does not specify if they are kept in the Australia House or not.

 

Safe to assume they will go there too. The species list until now was just based on the local press, we will find out soon enough what else will be kept. Plenty of options, like echidna, still possible.

 

3 days ago the zoo posted a video on their Instagram showing the current progress of the Australia house. It is coming along quite nicely!

Source:
Instagram of Zoo Wilhelma (15/6/2023)

 

The Zoo has announced there will be a very special Animal for the outside Enclosure.
Maybee Quoka or something else?

Terra Australis fertig: Wann die Koalas in der Wilhelma besucht werden können - Nachrichten aus Stuttgart - Zeitungsverlag Waiblingen

 

Maybe Tasmanian devil with the new import to Copenhagen? Quokka would be better, though!

 

Tasmanian Devils would be cool too.

 

Pffft, if they don't display any venomous snakes (or at least a Redback / big huntsman spider) in there, then it's not an authentic Australian zoo house...

At least Prague Zoo knows what the people want and deserve!

 

These animals will come with the koala, so a separate importm then the Tasmanian devils. It was rumoured to be a kangaroo exhibit and quokka have been mentioned in the planning stages. They are still mentioned in a recent article from one of the architects, though that doesn't necessarily mean anything. My bet is on quokka, but who knows

The director (and bilby eep coordinator) also mentioned bilby are still planned for Europe, but first the Australian population needs to grow a bit.