Dublin Zoo

Dublin Zoo… where do we begin?  If you’re looking for what to do in Dublin and not sure where to start, we know the answer. Don’t bother worrying about what site to start from, the Dublin Zoo is an awesome starting point for you and your family. It would prove to be one of the best family things to do while visiting Dublin.

Dublin Zoo is Ireland’s most popular family thing to do. The 28 hectare park in the heart of Dublin is home to some 400 animals, where education and conservation combine for an exciting and unforgettable Dublin experience!

What’s special about Dublin Zoo

As you might have rightly guessed, the Dublin Zoo is a zoo situated in Dublin, Ireland. It spans 69 hectares of land and has a wide variety of animals exhibited. Animals exhibited include lots of endangered species such as the fruit bat and the gold lion tamarin.

Zoo in Dublin is one or the world’s and most popular Zoos. Opened in 1831, it welcomes around a million visitors a year.

You know the popular and world’s famous MGM Logo Lion, right? But did you know, that Leo was born in Dublin Zoo, Ireland?

Leo the Lion is the seventh lion (he is also called Leopold the Lion, Leopold, or just Leo) and by far MGM’s longest-ever used lion. He represented the most MGM films since 1957 and became the best known and favorite MGM lion.

Brief History of Dublin Zoo

The Dublin Zoo was first established in the 18th century precisely on 1st September, 1831 by the Royal Zoological Society of Dublin. The zoo started up operations with only 118 animals given to them by the London Zoo and they included 46 mammals and 72 birds.

Here are some facts about the Dublin Zoo that you need to know

The idea to have a zoo in Dublin was brought by medical doctors

Not exactly who you think would be angling for the building of a zoo right? Now, a hospital would have been more believable but the fact remains that doctors were the brain behind the idea of the Dublin Zoo and it was all borne out of selfishness. The doctors who were not affiliated with any of the big medical corporations needed cadavers to better understand the body systems and more often than not were forced to get specimen for their experiments by robbing graves of their dead bodies. Needless to say, it was an unpleasant task and most of them were also in fear of being caught. Animal cadavers were even harder to find. So, they came up with this awesome plan to open a zoo so that they would not only have easy access to the cadavers of the dead animals, they could also have the opportunity to study them up close and personal while they were still alive.

Dublin Zoo is big on conservation

Conservation of animals  was one of the goals that were set when opening the zoo. The Dublin Zoo is concerned with the conservation of the endangered species of wildlife. The zoo is a member of the European Endangered Species Programmer,  an organization entrusted with the mandate to conserve and keep endangered species alive in Europe. They do this by liaising with several zoos in Europe and the Dublin Zoo is one of them. Some of the endangered species that the Dublin Zoo is responsible for include; The saki, a white faced monkey, The fruit bats, one of the most important animals to the ecosystem of the rainforest, the gold lion tamarins, a monkey with beautiful coloring and one of the rarest animals in the world.

Areas and divisions at Dublin Zoo

The zoo is divided into 10 different areas and they include:

• The African plains
• Sea lions cove
• fringes of the Arctic
• Orangutan Forest
• Kaziranga forest trail
• city farm
• house of reptiles
• South American House
• Asian forest,
• Robert’s House.

Each of these areas are populated with different animals.

Fringes of the Artic

This particular area of the zoo is reserved for animals who live in the cold regions of the world such as the penguins, Grey wolves and Siberin Tigers.

African plains

This part of the Dublin Zoo is stocked with animals that are predominantly found in the African Savanah. Some of these animals include giraffes, hippopotamuses, ostriches, zebras, chimpanzees, wild dogs hornbills and many other animals. There is also an African restaurant located in the African plains to round up the African feel.

The Asian forest

Originally opened under the name, World of Cats, the Asian forests houses lions and is designed to look like copies of two naturally occurring forests in India and Indonesia. They contain two species of lions.

South American House

The South American House is the habitat of animals that are found in South and central America. It is sponsored by Kelloggs and is home to the gold lion tamarins, the  squirrel monkeys, pygmy marmosets,  military macaws and other animals.

World of Primates

As you might have guessed, this part of the zoo displays different species of monkeys and apes. The area is mostly made up of islands which are also connected to each other by bridges. There are so many different species of primates that occupy this part of the zoo. Some of them include orangutans, spider monkeys,lemurs,and siamangs.

Sea lions cove

This is an artificial habitat that houses a family of California sea lions in the Dublin Zoo. Creating the Sea lions cove took a whole lot of money and determination and till today is one of the biggest tasks to be taken by the Dublin Zoo.

There are too many other areas and locations in the zoo to name all of them. Just know that each of them contains animals that are particular to the area.

Dublin Zoo animal guide

Here is a list of all animals you can see at  Dublin Zoo:

1. Mammals

• African painted dog
• bongo (eastern)
• chimpanzee
• elephant (Asian)
• Gibbon (siamang)
• giraffe
• golden lion tamarin
• gorilla (western Lowland)
• hippopotamus
• hog (red river)
• lemur (red-ruffed & ring tailed)
• lion (Asian)
• macaque ( Sulawesi crested)
• Mangabey ( Red capped & white crowed)
• meercat
• monkey (spider)
• okapi
• orangutan ( Bornean)
• Oryx ( scimitar- horned)
• panda (red)
• rhinoceros (southern white)
• sea lion (California)
• sloth ( two-toed)
• snow leopard
• tapir (Brazilian)
• tiger (amur)
• wolf (grey)
• zebra (common)

2. Birds

• Flamingo (Chilean)
• Hornbill ( Abyssinian & great indian)
• ibis (Waldrapp)
• lory (yellow-backed)
• ostrick
• peafowl (Indian)
• penguin ( Humboldt’s)

3. Reptiles

• Annam leaf turtle
• Burmese python
• forest dragon
• green crested lizard
• green tree and royal python
• king ratsnake
• mangrove monitor
• panther chameleon
• star tortoise
• west African crocodile

4. Amphibians

• fire belied toad

5. Invertebrates

• stick insect
• tarantula (rose)