Fota Wildlife Park in Cork gears up to celebrate 40th anniversary this weekend

FOTA Wildlife Park holds a special place in the hearts of all who visit.

For the last 40 years, it has welcomed families from Cork and beyond to see the animals, have a picnic, and learn about what the park does to conserve the natural habitats of its residents.

In preparation for their 40th anniversary, I was lucky enough to get a behind the scenes tour with head ranger, Willie Duffy, and see what a day at Fota looks like.

Willie, originally from Cobh, has been working in the park for 35 years and currently runs private tours around it. Truly passionate about what he does, combined with the gift of the gab, Willie gives those on the tour a fascinating insight into what goes on at Fota Wildlife Park, and explains the importance of breeding programmes, conservation projects, animal nutrition and the environment.

Fota opened its doors in 1983. The site was originally owned by the Smith-Barry family before being sold to University College Cork.

Dublin Zoo had reached maximum development and, in 1979, its director proposed to the Zoological Society of Ireland Council that a wildlife park should be established and the site at Fota Island was proposed.

UCC offered the land free of charge under a licence agreement, and Fota Wildlife Park became a joint project of the Zoological Society of Ireland and University College Cork.

In late 1982, the first set of animals began to arrive, and in the summer of 1983, Fota Wildlife Park officially opened its doors.

During my tour, I also got to meet ranger Nicola Capithorne. A farmer from Belgooly, she has been working in Fota as a Ranger for the last three years. Since graduating from UCC, she has been working in the hoof stock section in the park, meaning she looks after the rhinos, giraffes, and European bison.

Working with animals means no two days are the same for Nicola, which is why she enjoys her job so much. She has also been able to further her education and recently undertook a Diploma in Management of Zoo and Aquarium Animals, which has furthered her knowledge in animal nutrition, husbandry and animal welfare.

Fota prides itself on two core values: education and conversation. It offers educational tours to the public, through private tours with its rangers, school trips and corporate days out. On average, Fota welcomes 20,000 students each year. At the end of each visit, it is imperative its guests know more about plant and animal species, conservation programmes and the environment when they leave than before they come in. Fota aims to educate its visitors on the animals and their habitats, conservation and the environment.

The park is committed to conservation - it is home to many endangered species from around the world. Conservation is the act of safeguarding ecosystems and environments to protect the animals that live there.

Through breeding programmes, which are run co-operatively with other institutions across the globe, Fota is helping restore populations of these species and prevent them from going extinct.

Willie explained the importance of co-operation and working together to make conservation projects a success, and they are partnered with organisations such as Dublin Zoo and The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Breeding programmes play a massive role in making conservation projects a success. One of Fota’s recent breeding programme triumphs is the release of European Bison back into the wild in national parks in Poland. As a ranger in the hoof stock section, Nicola said her proudest moment working at the Park to date, was seeing two animals being returned to their natural habitat.

Did you know that money raised from the duck feeder goes straight into conservation projects?

Fota Wildlife Park has raised more than €250,000 for conservation projects in Madagascar.

Not only does the park cater for exotic wildlife from across the globe, but many Irish species are also being cared for by its rangers. The natterjack toad is one of Ireland’s rarest amphibians, and the most endangered of our native amphibian species.

They can only be found on the Dingle Peninsula in areas such as Inch beach and Castlegregory. Warmer weather in recent years means many ponds these toads use as breeding grounds have dried up, as a result, survival rates of eggs and tadpoles in the wild are declining rapidly.

Fota Wildlife Park has mimicked the conditions these tadpoles need to grow, and once old enough, they are being released back into their natural habitat in various locations across the Peninsula.

Famous for their cheetahs, species such as kangaroos, elder and Indian rhinoceros can also be found at the Park. The animals at Fota originate from various habitats around the world and it’s important that animals who come from the same habitats are housed together.

There are many different houses and sanctuaries around the Park. The ‘Asian Sanctuary’, which houses tigers, rhinos and lions, opened in 2012. Similarly, the Madagascar House opened in 2019 and is home to lemurs, amphibians and fish.

During the tour, I got to meet many of these amazing animals, from Jamal, the Indian rhinoceros, to Clide, a siamang gibbon, who is one of Fota’s longest residents. But my favourite part was when Willie introduced me to Blathain, Clodagh and all the girls in the giraffe house. Willie has worked closely with the giraffes over the years and even let me feed them and take a selfie!

Fota Wildlife Park takes its responsibilities towards the environment very seriously. Willie also discussed the importance of preventing climate change as it has devastating effects on animals and plants, ecosystems and access to water.

Fota encourages everyone who visits the Park to travel there by train or share a car with others, to reduce your use of disposable items within the Park and to always reduce, reuse, and recycle.

During my tour, I stopped to talk to some people enjoying a day trip to Fota Wildlife Park.

Declan and Breda McGovern, their son Aiden, his partner Katie and their daughter Fíadh, all from Kildare, were on a family day out in the Park. Declan, Breda and Aiden last visited it 35 years ago and were delighted to see how the park has evolved.

Their favourite part of the day was seeing the baby ring-tailed lemur on his mother’s back and they vowed they wouldn’t leave it so long until their next trip.

Seamus, Aisling, Jamie, Emily and Dara, from Ardmore in Waterford, visit Fota at least twice a year. Their favourite animals are the cheetahs and they recalled their many happy memories in Fota over the years. Aisling even got pooped on once!

I also met Danielle, Rosie, from Cork and Micheal O’Hagan, originally from Dublin, who are regular visitors to Fota Wildlife Park. Their favourite part is the walk around the park and looking at the giraffes and Zebras.

Fota Wildlife Park is always the destination for Naíonra an Teaghlaigh Naofa school tour every year. Múinteoirí Orlagh, Emer, Tracy and Ciara from Togher, Ballyphehane and Ballyvolane look forward to the trip each year as a way of reliving their childhood memories.

Orlagh remembered how, for her 9th birthday, she was brought on a mystery tour to Fota, and Emer used to always look forward to her Sunday spins to the Wildlife Park.

I didn’t want my tour with Willie to end. I learned so much about habitats, breeding programmes and the animals. I am already looking forward to my next trip to Fota Wildlife Park. Here’s to another 40 years of Fota.

CELEBRATIONS

This Friday, June 23, Fota Wildlife Park turns 40 and celebrates four decades of conservation in action.

Since opening to the public on June 23, 1983, the park has expanded from 73 to 100 acres, has grown the animal collection from 59 species to 108, given €4million to conservation programmes, and overseen the births of hundreds of endangered animals, including 240 cheetahs, 72 Rothschild’s giraffes and 60 European bison.

Fota Wildlife Park has also been a key participant in many high-profile reintroduction programmes such as the European bison into the UK, Poland and Romania, the Scimitar horned oryx in North Africa, and have released almost 7,000 Natterjack toads in West Kerry in partnership with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Dingle Aquarium.

To mark its 40th birthday, from Friday, June 23 to Sunday, June 25, Fota Wildlife Park is hosting a carnival style weekend of entertainment and games and it is inviting the public to join in its 40th birthday celebrations.

Throughout the weekend, carnival performers such as stilt walkers and jugglers will entertain visitors from 12 to 4pm daily, ensuring a true celebration of Fota’s 40 years of bringing the majesty of wildlife to visitors from near and far.

Carnival booths, face painting and an array of fun games will be available from 12pm to 4pm each day, located at the Oasis Restaurant Area in Fota Wildlife Park.

Visitors can take part and enjoy the carnival atmosphere as they take on the fun challenges that each game has to offer.

On Frida, June 2, you might even hear Cork-based vocal duo, Velvet, doing pop up acapella swing and jazz numbers throughout the afternoon.

Throughout the birthday weekend, there will be live feeding of animals such as the Humbolt penguins, Northern cheetahs, Lion tailed macaques, Red pandas, Seals and various primates.

All events are free with entry to Fota Wildlife Park.

To commemorate 40 Years of Fota Wildlife Park, a series of wildlife talks, live events, and educational themed weekends are taking place throughout the summer.

See www.fotawildlife.ie for schedule of events.