Speech at the Opening of Sea Lion Cove
Dublin Zoo, 9th June 2015
A Dhaoine Uaisle
Bhí áthas orm cuireadh a fháil chun bheith anseo i Zú Bhaile Átha Cliath inniu chun Cuas na Mór-Róin nua a oscailt. Is mian liom buíochas a ghabháil le Stiúrthóir an Zú, Leo Oosterweghel as a chuireadh agus libhse ar fad as ucht na fíorchaoin fáilte sin.
Is pléisiúr ar leith dom é cuairt a thabhairt ar mo chomharsana béal dorais i bPáirc an Fhionnuisce.
[I was delighted to be invited here today to open the magnificent new Sea Lion Cove at Dublin Zoo. I would like to thank the Director of the Zoo, Leo Oosterweghel for his invitation and all of you for such a generous welcome.
[It is a particular pleasure of course to be here to visit my nearest neighbours in the Phoenix Park.]
A trip to the Zoo has always been a special highlight for generations of Irish children and adults. For the last 4 years Dublin Zoo has attracted over an astonishing million visitors a year making it one of Ireland’s most popular visitor attractions and I am well aware that funds received by Dublin Zoo including gate takings, donations and sponsorships are directly invested into the day to day management, running and up keep of Dublin Zoo’s animals, their habitats and conservation projects, the fruits of which you now see before you.
Sea Lion Cove is the biggest and most exciting development undertaken by Dublin Zoo in recent years. The new saltwater habitat was inspired by the natural environment of the California sea lions and it includes a state of the art water filtration plant. The most spectacular feature of the new habitat is the deep saltwater pool and a viewing area which will allow visitors for the first time to observe the sea lions swimming underwater through glass.
Sea Lion Cove will be the new home to the colony of the zoo’s California sea lions. At the moment this colony consists of two females, Cassie and Florence and one male, Nico, at the Zoo. They will be joined by a third female, Seanna, in the coming weeks. It is envisaged that the colony will grow to 7 – 8 animals in the future.
As we know from the hugely popular television programme, “The Zoo” (produced by my son John with Moondance productions), Dublin Zoo is managed by caring, qualified and accredited zoo professionals who devote their lives to the welfare of animals. Dublin Zoo works in partnership with zoos worldwide to conserve bio-diversity on earth and financially supports a variety of conservation projects supporting gorillas, tigers, giraffes and penguins among others. Dublin Zoo also supports a range of Irish conservation projects as part of its objective to galvanise communities to commit to wildlife conservation.
When designing for animals, the Dublin Zoo team always carefully studies the needs of the animals and the inspiration for a new habitat always comes from nature. The Director and all the staff deserve huge credit for what they have achieved here and for their continuing ambitious vision for the zoo to continue and enhance its role in valuing, protecting and preserving the diversity of many of the earth’s species for future generations.
I am aware that work on Sea Lion Cove started in September 2014 and, as the construction took place on the site of a former lake, there were significant engineering challenges, the water being spacious and deep, there was the additional complexity of floating driftwood, kelp and a number of rocky outcrops.
The new sea lions’ home marks the culmination of many years of planning, preparation, consultation and hard work and it is a testament to the creativity and vision of Leo and his extraordinary team. Visitors to the Zoo will wander into a natural looking landscape and “discover” the animals, providing a remarkable insight into sea lion behaviour in their native habitat.
While I am here at Dublin Zoo, I should also say that I have always been deeply impressed by their education department which offers a comprehensive range of exciting, interactive and structured educational programmes and workshops, tailored to meet the specific needs of all learners, young and old.
We should acknowledge the Director and the staff’s clear vision that education in its best sense is about developing an appreciation of the wonders of the world, nature and wildlife, and the development and retention of a sense of wanting to contribute to the project of conservation. It’s about informing people’s beliefs and attitudes so that they will want to live sustainably.
Finally, on this very special occasion, I would like to warmly congratulate you all on your part in making Dublin Zoo the world-class, dynamic, progressive zoo that it is and I wish you every success in the future.
Thank you very much.