Recent Developments
Belfast Zoo is always making changes and welcoming new arrivals or celebrating births.
In 2001 a wolf-like dog broke into a Kangaroo enlosure and killed one of the younger kangaroos that had been born at the zoo.
In June 2007, a Barbary lion cub was born at the zoo. This was the first Barbary lion to be born in Ireland. The cub was rejected by its mother and hand-reared at home by keeper Linda Frew. Lily the lion moved to Hodonin Zoo in the Czech Republic in August 2009, as part of a breeding programme.
In 2008, the zoo opened a new tropical rainforest which houses such animals as two-toed sloth, red-footed tortoises and Rodrigues bats. The Rainforest House is a walk-through exhibition with tropical landscaping and a constant temperature of 27 degrees. In winter the zoo finds it slightly harder to keep it at a constant temperature and therefore some of the animals sadly pass away.
More recently, renovations have included work on the gorilla and chimpanzee enclosures, giraffe and elephant enclosures, including a raised giraffe feeder, and new frames in the spider monkey and Andean bear enclosures.
In 2009, on its 75th birthday, the zoo opened a new state-of-the-art Visitors’ Centre and Zoovenir Shop. The refurbishment features high-level roofing with plenty of natural light and multimedia presentations showing the history of Belfast Zoo and wildlife in Northern Ireland.
The zoo was awarded £250,000 from the Tourism Development Scheme (TDS) from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board to build the new reception area. The council has donated a further £300,000 to help with the increase in visitor numbers.
2009 was a successful year with plenty of new arrivals including a Sumatran tiger called Kabus, and the only Tree-kangaroo in the UK, called Kwikila. 2009 also brought the zoo’s highest level of visitors in its history with over 302,000 visitors. Over 90 babies were born in the zoo in 2009.
2010 has seen the arrival of two smooth-coated otters, red titi monkeys and a pair of Toco Toucans. Other new arrivals are planned for the year, to include a female Sumatran tiger to join Kabus.
May Day in 2010 had more than double the visitors of the same day in 2009.
Babies since 2009 have included a Malayan tapir, ring-tailed lemurs, a Grant's zebra, sea lions, prairie dogs, litters of piglets, spider monkeys, red kangaroos and many more. The Zoo also has a farm which houses African Pygmy Goats, Shetland Pony, Mediterannean Miniature Donkey, Irish moiled Cattle, Ferrets, Rabbits, Barn Owl, Tamworth Pig, Gloucestershire Old Spot Pig, Vorweck Chicken, Turkey, Bronze Turkey and Berkshire Pig.
2012 has so far seen the birth of two Eastern Bongos, a Blesbok Foal, a giraffe foal and a baby chimpanzee.
Read more about this topic: Belfast Zoo
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