(CNN) The run-up to exams is a stressful period for university students everywhere, and now unfortunate scholars in Australia have had their preparations disrupted by an unlikely culprit: the durian fruit.

Staff at the University of Canberra library were forced to evacuate the building due to a suspected gas leak, but a search revealed the stench was in fact caused by the fruit.

"We've been evacuated! Will post an update when students can re-enter the building," wrote the library in a Facebook post , which was later edited to reveal the source of the smell.

"Fortunately the suspected gas leak turned out to be a part of a durian -- the offending fruit has now been removed."

Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians Durian hunter: Best known for their pungent aroma and starchy, custard-like texture, durians aren't for everyone. Hide Caption 1 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians Meet Lindsay: But American Lindsay Gasik is completely obsessed. On her blog But American Lindsay Gasik is completely obsessed. On her blog Year of the Durian , Gasik documents the fruit's complexity and nuanced flavors, relays engaging stories about durian farmers and tracks down hard-to-find varieties. Hide Caption 2 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians Durian diaries: Based in Penang, Malaysia, she also leads durian tours and has penned two guide books, including recently published "The Durian Tourist's Guide to Penang". Hide Caption 3 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians On the trail: "(While traveling), I started noticing that there was this kind of obsession on durian, a fixation on durian, more than any other fruit ... People would travel from all over the world just to eat this one kind of fruit," 29-year-old Gasik tells CNN Travel. Hide Caption 4 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians Passion fruit: There are thousands of durian varieties in the world, growing in tropical latitudes from Hawaii to Borneo, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Brunei, Malaysia and more. Hide Caption 5 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians World of durians: Gasik not only tells stories about farmers and vendors, but she also documents durian varieties in delicious detail. Part of her mission, she says, is to hunt down durian varieties that are often overlooked. Hide Caption 6 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians Digging in: Of the 130-some registered varieties in Malaysia, Gasik would guess that she's tasted at least 65 over the past 10 years. In Thailand, she's sampled about 65 of 234 types. Hide Caption 7 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians Tried and tested: "There are durian that (taste) like coffee, milk chocolate, white chocolate, coconut cream, whisky, wine... " says Gasik. Some even taste like banana rum. Hide Caption 8 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians Diverse durians: Durians are wildly diverse, not just in terms of variety, but also in the local cultures and practices that surround them. Hide Caption 9 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians The right cut: In Thailand, people prefer to eat durian a little bit early to give them a longer shelf life and a starchy, sweet flavor with hardly any aroma at all. Hide Caption 10 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians Just like custard: In Malaysia, meanwhile, people prefer to let the durian ripen fully on the tree and drop naturally to the ground. At that point, the pH has dropped, the fat content has increased, and the aromatic bulbs inside will smell more strongly of sulfur as they ripen, she adds. Hide Caption 11 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians On the nose: "The typical stinky egg and onion sulfur smell comes out in later stages of ripeness and, often, the smell wafting up and down streets is really the rotting shells," she adds. "Really, fresh durian smells mild and gassy like fresh grass." Hide Caption 12 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians A lifelong adventure: For Gasik, durians really have changed her life. The fruit has opened up a new world, a career and a calling. Hide Caption 13 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians New experiences: "If you're looking for experiences, a really great way to do it is to hunt durian," says Gasik. Hide Caption 14 of 15 Photos: Hunting for Asia's most delicious durians New friends: "It's sort of a dive into their culture that people really appreciate," says Gasik. "You end up having really great conversations with people." Hide Caption 15 of 15

Some 550 people evacuated the building in less than six minutes, according to the post, before emergency services got to the bottom of the mystery.

Read More