REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OPENING OF DUBLIN ZOO’S AFRICAN SAVANNA HABITAT
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OPENING OF DUBLIN ZOO’S AFRICAN SAVANNA HABITAT THURSDAY, 9 APRIL 2009
Dia dhíbh a chairde. Tá an-áthas orm bheith i bhur measc anseo ar an ócáid speisialta seo. Míle bhuíochas díbh as an gcuireadh agus an fáilte a thug sibh dom.
Thank you for that very warm welcome. I am delighted to be here with my good next-door neighbour, Dublin Zoo, to celebrate the latest development in its long and proud history. My thanks to Director Leo Oosterweghel and the Council of the Zoological Society for the invitation to be here today to open this magnificent new African Savanna Habitat.
As President I have had the pleasure of attending events throughout the country but never one which required so little effort to get to, I think it must have taken all of two minutes to get here. In fact, as some of you might know, the area where we are now used to be part of the Áras garden, 30 acres of it to be precise, but don’t worry I won’t need it back! It was donated to Dublin Zoo on behalf of the people of Ireland by the Presidency and Government in 1998 and in 2001 the original African Plains was opened to the public. That was the start of a huge new adventure on this side of the fence as animals roamed the Irish/African plains with much more space to wander in natural surroundings.
If you live in the Park it is hard to avoid noticing how popular the zoo is. It is remarkable how its popularity has never waned - just grown stronger year after year, drawing each new generation into its own special magic, its own unique world. That world has kept changing, offering something new and fresh and it was that spirit of progress and devotion to animal welfare that set the scene for this new Savanna habitat. Our beautiful, temperate Irish climate can be a little more damp at times than African zebras, giraffes and ostriches are accustomed to, so a vast amount of work has been done to adapt our good Phoenix Park soil to create an environment more friendly and familiar to those magnificent animals.
Much of that work is invisible today, the massive excavations, the thousands of tonnes of Donegal Sandstone and thousands of tonnes of sand, are unobtrusively doing their work in the new drainage system which is a central feature of the new habitat. Three hectares of Savanna landscape have appeared as if by magic in central Dublin, every detail cleverly planned, not by nature but by a terrific team. Now, without heading to Kenya or Tanzania or watching National Geographic on television, we can enjoy the thrill of the safari park right up close but without disturbing the animal’s happy enjoyment of their home.
It has been said that “zoo animals are ambassadors for their cousins in the wild” and the magnificent animals that Dublin Zoo is renowned for internationally including the Southern White Rhino, the Rothschild Giraffe and the splendidly named Scimitar horned Oryx represent their species well, though sad to say that zoos alone have preserved the Scimitar horned Oryx from extinction - they now have no cousins left in the wild.
So these majestic animal ambassadors here today teach our children the beauty and wonder of nature and the importance of actively caring for nature. Dublin Zoo’s greatest enthusiasts are our children and the Zoo has repaid the compliment in paying a lot of attention to the needs of children in designing the new habitat and in their education programmes.
Over 900,000 visitors came here last year and with this new habitat you can be sure they will all be back and more besides. They will come to a very special, happy place which we are very proud of. A lot of people are entitled to our thanks for the sheer delight that is Dublin Zoo and this new chapter in its story - Director Leo Oosterweghel and his very creative team, the Zoological Society, the OPW and all its staff and contractors and suppliers. Well done to one and all. May your work be rewarded by the contentment of the animals and the joy of those who visit them.
It now gives me immense pleasure to declare Dublin Zoo’s African Savanna open.
Gurb fada buan sibh ‘s go raibh míle maith agaibh.