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Igor the Hedgehog: Successful move to the Elephant House in Leipzig!
The long-eared hedgehog Igor was successfully relocated to Leipzig Zoo. Animal keeper Dana Eisenreich oversaw his relocation and diet.
Igor the Hedgehog: Successful move to the Elephant House in Leipzig!
There is exciting news at Leipzig Zoo that will delight both animal lovers and those interested in keeping animals. In the last few days, the move of the long-eared hedgehog Igor, who until recently lived temporarily in Gondwanaland, was documented up close by the keepers. In the MDR program “Elephant, Tiger & Co” you can see how Igor moves into his new home in the elephant house under the loving preparation of caretaker Dana Eisenreich. This move is not only a turning point in Igor's life, but also a great example of the excellent care of animals in the zoo, which is always a focus, as thueringen24.de reports.
The move went smoothly. Igor initially slept in his old enclosure, but Dana had already trained for his move and worked with fresh mealworms as a reward. The result: Igor reacted positively to Dana's speech and showed himself willingly in the transport cage. After seeing his new keeper Holger Wust again, Igor curiously ventured out to explore his new habitat for the first time. Holger continued to actively feed him mealworms, which Igor really enjoyed.
A new diet for Igor
But there is another challenge behind the move: Igor has gained some weight. Weighing 896 grams, the long-eared hedgehog is slightly overweight, and Dana has therefore put him on a diet. This diet will consist mainly of crickets and mealworms, with Igor clearly opting for the mealworms and grasshoppers and preferring to reject the crickets. The goal is for Igor to lose a total of 50 grams in order to improve his quality of life in the zoo. So far it has been shown that Igor is losing 4 to 8 grams a day, which is on the right path to greater well-being, as bild.de explains in detail.
The challenge of species-appropriate husbandry
Keeping animals in zoos is a sensitive issue. The conditions must meet the specific requirements of the respective animal species, which is often complicated. Larger zoos, as reported by tierschutzbund.de, often keep exotic species with the aim of attracting visitors. However, the welfare of the animals sometimes becomes secondary and it is a constant challenge to provide the animals with a life that resembles that in the wild.
Especially in zoos like in Leipzig, it is particularly important that the animals' needs are taken seriously. Behavioral disorders are often signs that the animals are not being kept in a species-appropriate manner. Animals such as elephants suffer greatly from family groups being torn apart. However, Leipzig Zoo is committed to ensuring the best possible care for its residents, and Igor's move plays an important role in this. All in all, Igor's story shows that Leipzig Zoo takes care of both the well-being of the animals and species-appropriate husbandry.