Animal paradise
“Franziskus”: Now all that’s missing is a giraffe!
It took a long time for the animals to recover from the fireworks madness of New Year's Eve. Now the "Franziskus" adventure farm is once again a paradise in Eastern Styria.
It's hard not to fall into unrestrained raptures here - after all, it's rare to see something so heartfelt! The pygmy marmosets, these little heartbreakers, dash through their enclosure at the proverbial "monkey speed", wrestling with the comparatively huge head of the iguana, which doesn't bat an eyelid, completely unimpressed. They curiously scrutinize visitors sitting in the cosy coffee bar - and a baby as small as a mouse lets itself be carried through the branches on its mother's back. But even beyond that, the animal lover's heart beats a little faster here at Franziskus Erlebnisbauernhof in Unterlamm in Eastern Styria - if only because it is such a beautiful place, with good energy and a peaceful atmosphere.
"Thank God it's back now," says the dedicated operator Franz Maurer, who has animal welfare in his DNA. "It took a long time for calm to return here, for the animals to calm down after the night of horror." The night of horror was the one at the turn of the year, which sent Maurer's charges into absolute panic - and, as reported, even killed a female nandu!
"Most of the breeds here are flight animals," says the East Styrian, who knows his animal treasures. "However, when these bright flashes come from all directions, they have nowhere to go." In a panic, the female nandu crashed into a boulder - and broke her neck. Her companion "Emil" was left just as broken. "He is deeply saddened by the loss of his companion," says Franz Maurer. "They were one heart and one soul." The East Styrian is making every effort to find a new partner for "Emil" as quickly as possible.
This is not the first blow that has hit the beautiful adventure farm with full force - a few years ago, perverted animal abusers poisoned the dromedaries! And tore down the fence to the enclosure where the small wallaby kangaroos live. "Many fled in panic, including one mother animal. Another was shot," says Maurer, describing his darkest hours. "It was all so bad that I wanted to give up." But the baby kangaroo needed him - he raised it by hand. In the meantime, cameras - may karma strike the perpetrators - cover every inch of the extensive grounds.
In which the most magnificent animals cavort! Lemurs, monkeys, donkeys, dromedaries, and the world's most poisonous frog, the poison dart frog (kept safe, of course). The smallest deer species, the cute muntjac, originally from China. Of course, none of the animals are from the wild, many have been rescued from poor conditions.
Franz Maurer is delighted with the many visitors and that he is able to fulfill an educational mission here. "Many children really come to life here, especially handicapped people." And: "Many, including adults, have never seen a donkey or chickens up close before." And he teaches empathy - so that something as horrific as the one Maurer had to stop in horror never happens again: children kicking a rabbit around as a soccer in the petting zoo - while the parents looked on relaxed. "But when they left, they all realized that these are living creatures that feel and have to be treated with respect." There is nothing to add to that.
But there is one species that Franz Maurer would still like to have in his impressive flock - a giraffe!
Franziskus Tier-Erlebnisbauernhof, Unterlamm 10, open from April.
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