My hometown zoo, Dublin Zoo, is a very special place as it is one of the oldest zoos in the world, opening all the way back in 1831. I have been a member for many years, and I used to visit most weekends when I was 11-12. My favourite animals are the Asian Elephants, since I saw them as a small child in 2002, but I also enjoy the other residents of the zoo, including the red pandas, gorillas, orangutans, okapis and tigers.
Since the turn of the millenium, the zoo has undergone huge improvement of the enclosures, making them feel more naturalistic and improving the welfare of the animals. One of these is the Kaziranga Forest Trail, opened in 2007 and home to a herd of Asian elephants. The same year the exhibit opened, the herd matriarch, Bernhardine, delivered the first elephant ever to be born in the Republic of Ireland (Belfast Zoo saw successful breeding in 1997). Her name is Asha and she is now the mother of a female calf named ‘Zinda’, born in September 2016. In 2011, the zoo opened the Gorilla rainforest, which was followed by various other state-of-the-art exhibits, including Sea Lion Cove, Orangutan Forest, Zoorassic World, and Himalayan Hills. In 2013, the zoo welcomed the okapi, an endangered member of the giraffe family that was only discovered in 1901.
In 2021, the zoo published its 10-year vision, which aims to transform the zoo into a “zoo-based conservation organisation of global significance” by its bicentennial in 2031. The Himalayan Hills was the first major development to be completed following this publication, along with the arrival of new species such as the dhole (Asian red dog) and red howler monkey. 2023 saw the opening of a new nocturnal house for a family of aye-ayes, which came from Bristol Zoo, and with the aim to create a new Australian habitat, Irish wildlife zone, and aquarium, it appears that Dublin Zoo will only continue to be even better.
I attended the Summer Camp when I was 12, and I’ve attended other camps in the subsequent years up until just before I turned 17.
Link to their website.
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