Last month, the Fota Wildlife Park in Cork welcomed three critically endangered black and white ruffed lemur babies to its family of rare animals, asking the public to come up with names for the cute little creatures.
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Thousands of people submitted names and the park announced on its Facebook page recently that it will choose them very soon.
The winner will receive one of three, year-long conservation annual passes.
This is not the first time that it has welcomed a new family of animals at its popular park.
In March 2020, three baby Cheetah cubs were born at the 100-acre facility, which is located on Fota Island.
The adorable Northern cheetah cubs were born to cheetah parents Gráinne and Sam.
The baby lemurs were born to mother Cloud, who is 19 years old, and 9-year-old Paraic, who was born in the park.
The new arrivals share the park with their older siblings, twin brothers Nimbus and Cumulus, who were born in 2019, as well as brother and sister twins, Banie and Dubh, who were born June 2o20.
Lemurs, which are native to Madagascar, are critically endangered, with approximately 98 percent of them currently threatened due to hunting, habitat loss and fragmentation.
The black and white ruffed lemurs are typically found in the tropical forests of Eastern Madagascar.
There are only about 250 black and white ruffed lemurs left in the wild today.
These types of lemurs are also important pollinators, sticking their long nose deep into flowers.
The park, which is part of the Zoological Society of Ireland, is home to nearly 30 mammal and 80 bird species, some of which roam freely with visitors.
The History of Fota Wildlife Park
Fota Wildlife Park was founded in 1979 by Dr. Terry Murphy, the former director of Dublin Zoo.
The idea was to create a new wildlife park somewhere else in Ireland given that the zoo in Dublin had reached capacity.
What makes the County Cork park so attractive to many is the fact that the animals are largely accessible to the public, but still safe for all to see.
Larger mammals like the giraffe and bison live in paddocks but in a more natural environment than you might experience in a traditional zoo.
Others like kangaroos, zebras, and wallabies are free to roam around the park.
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Adding to its continuing conservation efforts is the creation of several habitats over the years.
They include the following:
- An Asian sanctuary development called The Tiger Forest, a 27-acre space devoted to Asian animals and plants. The sanctuary includes habitats for Sumatran tigers, Indian rhinos, lion-tailed macaques, and Asian lions.
- The Tropical House is home to a number of endangered species, including reptiles, amphibians, fish, and butterfly species. The area is kept at a temperature of 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 degrees Fahrenheit) year-round to mimic the rainforest environment they live in.
- Fota Wildlife Park’s Monkey Island is home to a number of monkey species, including the Black Howler, Colombian Spider Monkeys, the Siamang Gibbon, and a number of lemur species. Penguins, Chilean flamingos, and great white pelicans can be found in the wetlands around Monkey Island.
A one- or two-hour guided tour with a warden ranger will take you behind the scenes in several areas of the park, such as the giraffe house, as well as the opportunity to feed the friendly penguins.
Besides the Fota Wildlife Park in Cork, Fota Island is also home Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens.
The house was the former home of the Smith-Barry family, also known as the Earls of Barrymore.
The Regency mansion has over 70 rooms. Guided tours are available.