The excursion took us to Landskron Castle, where we first received a guided tour of Monkey Mountain and then explored the research and observation station. The detailed explanations by our team colleague Johanna Schulz gave us a comprehensive insight into the lives of 180 Japanese macaques, which are kept in a beautiful species-appropriate forest reserve on the mountain and receive scientific care.

Afterwards, we visited a bird of prey flight show at the Eagle Arena in Landskron Castle. This park is contained within historic castle walls and is unique to Europe as a home to a wide variety of owls and birds of prey. With the professional care of experienced falconers, the animals lead completely relaxed and stress-free lives in their species-appropriate aviaries. As explained during the flight show, some of the birds can choose to stay at the castle but will sometimes fly away for days or weeks at a time. Thanks to our team colleague Ilja Svetnik, we enjoyed a guided tour through the aviaries and gained lots of detailed information about the life of the birds of prey and owls. 

Continuous team training not only promotes cooperation, but also expands our network and thus creates new collaborations for research and teaching.