Around the World In 18 Days
Although the two protagonists in Jules Verne's novel needed 80 days for the journey around the world, we managed to fit many unforgettable experiences, animal observations and measurements into 18 days. The 14 members of the JBL research team visited the island Catalina off Los Angeles in California for one day, Moorea in the South Seas for 2 days, various regions of Australia for 12 days and finally the desert next to Dubai.
The Team
consisted of 14 members , 11 of whom had been drawn by lot. The expedition leader Heiko Blessin, JBL sales manager Didier Lergenmuller and the expedition physician Dr. Ludwig Neurohr were clear from the start. Silke and Maik Figura from the Bremen area and Hans-Jörg Buben and Andreas Geisler comprised the North German group, and this group was particularly well versed in the fields of terrarium animals and ornithology. Nele Lechleiter and her father Thijl were especially interested in the fish fauna. Roland Wrobel from Kölle Zoo was the acknowledged salt water specialist and Sophi Pages carried out the biotope data measuring throughout the whole expedition. Matthias Kahmann was responsible for the data logging and for determining our GPS positions, so that we would be able to match each measurement to the GPS data at a later date. Michael Schmölzing carried out the water analysis at each freshwater biotope and Alex Leuthäuser was particularly good at detecting animals. In addition he and Heike Blessin photographically documented each biotope above and under water.
