Fota Wildlife Park celebrates 40th anniversary and birth of new baby giraffe

Fota Wildlife Park’s 40th birthday party this weekend has coincided with the recent birth of a new baby giraffe to the excitement of all the staff at the centre.

“We are also announcing the birth of a baby giraffe,” said a spokesperson for Fota Wildlife Park. 

“She is very cute, and she can trace her lineage back to 1982 when her great great grandmother Frisky came to Fota from Southampton Zoo.” 

The bundle of joy has arrived just as Fota Wildlife Park today marks the 40th anniversary of the Park’s beginnings and celebrates 40 years of conservation, education, research, and breeding of endangered animals.

On June 23 in 1983 Fota Wildlife Park opened its doors to the public. 

Since opening forty years ago, about 12 million people have visited Fota Wildlife Park and the number of animals in the park has grown from 172 animals and 33 species, up to 1,096 animals and 109 species.

Fota Wildlife Park has given €4 million to Irish and international conservation programmes and has overseen the births of hundreds of endangered species including 240 cheetahs, 72 Rothschild’s giraffes and 60 European bison.

Over the last 40 years, 7,914 different animals have called Fota Wildlife Park their home some for a short term and some for their whole life. 

This does not include the 7,500 Natterjack toadlets that were released into the wild in Kerry.

In 1983 the Rothschild’s giraffe along with the zebra and cheetah were some of the first species of animals to come to Fota Wildlife Park and it is very poignant as Fota celebrates its 40th anniversary that the birth of a baby Rothschild’s giraffe has been announced. It is classified as Giraffa Camelopardalis Rothschildi.

The new female giraffe was born on April 30 to mother Clodagh and Father Ferdie.

The new baby giraffe can trace her lineage in Cork back to 1982 when her great great grandmother Frisky came to Fota Wildlife Park from Southampton Zoo in England.

The baby giraffe’s mother Clodagh, who is eight years old, is part of a long line of giraffes born in Fota Wildlife Park. Clodagh’s mother Aoife was born in Fota Wildlife Park in 2010 and her grandmother Róisín was born there in 1992.

“The calf’s great great grandmother, Frisky, was one of the founding herd members. The young calf is a pale colour, and she is already displaying similar personality characteristics to her great grandmother Róisín who was a strong fearless female giraffe,” said the spokesperson.