Dublin Zoo Visit
On February 8th, a zoologist from Dublin Zoo came to talk to classes about the Zoos work. We learned that: The Zoo first opened in 1831; that snakes suffer intense stress when brought out from the zoo on visits; that a tiger can roam 150 miles from its home.
Pupils got to stroke a tiger skin and hold an embalmed sea-turtle, without any suffering bites or mauling.
“The tigers and lions practise their hunting skills with dummy animals, stuffed with meat.”
“There are 650 animals, 120 species, the oldest of which is a gorilla called Wendy, at 50 years old”
“She’s not a gorilla, she’s a monkey”
“Gorillas are monkeys”
“N,o they’re not”
“Gorilla mothers cling to their children for three months”
“You get fined 500 euro for each smuggled animal skin at Dublin Airport”
“The confiscated skins are then brought to the Zoo”
“The new gorilla enclosure is much larger than the last one.”
