The long-legged Maras look more like fat domestic rabbits. They come from South America and are well adapted to steppe areas. Three females and three males started on a long trip from the Hanover zoo to Novosibirsk on the Ob. The particular challenge of this animal transport was in the elaborate transport arrangements.

Thus the transport crates had to be very stable, that means it had to be equipped with three-layered walls. The industrious rodents would have chewed their way through their kennels in just a few hours and an escape attempt would be inevitable. Plywood walls, wire and wood structuring during transportation offered the Maras maximum safety and comfort. Three animal transport crates, each with two separate departments thus had to be specially made, each also with individual compartments, much like the Trans-Siberian railway. Our fully air-conditioned specialised vehicle with hydraulic suspension picked up the barely one-year-old passengers in Hanover and transported these to the airport Hahn. A veterinary checked all necessary documents on site for completeness and then everything was set to begin the journey to distant Siberia. Final checks before the start led to minor delays but soon after the South American rodents were hopping through the vast steppes of the Novosibirsk zoo.