When people bring animals to the Mittagong Vet Hospital, they might see two posters of a Silverback Gorilla, but might not know about their connections to Germany.
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Staff were getting ready to repaint the hospital's walls in 2021, when they took down a poster of a baby gorilla named Buzandi, and wondered what happened to him.
Buzandi was born and bred in a conservation program at Melbourne Zoo in 1991, and was meant to turn 30 at the end of 2021.
The veterinary hospital then searched for his whereabouts and discovered he was sent over to Hanover Zoo in Germany, when he was 10 years old.
Staff reached out to discover he turned 30 and wanted to wish the Silverback a happy birthday "from the Aussies back home".
"To make contact is quite amazing," said vet Dr Keith McKellar Stewart.
Hanover Zoo's press officer Dr Simone Hagenmeyer said the zoo was ecstatic to hear from Australia.
"[It was] absolutely fantastic to hear from the other side of the world," she said.
The German zoo sent a press release about the gorilla and and a poster of him as an adult to mark his birthday.
Both posters are proudly displayed next to one another.
That was not the only memento sent across the globe - a picture of Dr McKellar Stewart and a nurse Erica near the posters, has been added to gorilla keepers' brag board in the German zoo.
This connection prompted Dr Hagenmeyer to ask the Mittagong vet to explain why why wombats do not have belly buttons in their monthly magazine, because it was a common question at the zoo.
"[It was] wonderful to read and get engaging answers," she said.
"[They are] impressed we got a vet from Australia."
"That in itself is a great privilege to be a country town vet and to give them the facts on...marsupials..." the vet said.
Dr Hagenmeyer said she looked forward to keeping in touch with the veterinary hospital.
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Briannah Devlin
I like to write about arts, entertainment, any local reality tv leads, and property for the Southern Highland News and Goulburn Post, but also report on everything in between. If you have any tips, please send them to Briannah.Devlin@austcommunitymedia.com.au, or call 0439142204.
I like to write about arts, entertainment, any local reality tv leads, and property for the Southern Highland News and Goulburn Post, but also report on everything in between. If you have any tips, please send them to Briannah.Devlin@austcommunitymedia.com.au, or call 0439142204.
