Dublin Zoo has, of course, changed a great deal in recent years. Thanks to support from the government, sponsors and its ever-increasing numbers of visitors, Dublin Zoo is becoming a world-class facility that Ireland should be proud to call its own. More than 900,000 visited Dublin Zoo in 2007. All age groups, nationalities and different walks of life were represented – 50,000 of them were school children who visited as part of their education.
Many will have discovered and wondered about animals from places they have barely even heard of. Imagine the void left if the zoo was closed. Who would tell children about how elephants communicate, why monkeys hang by their tails or why flamingos are pink? How wonderful that they can see a real elephant or a zebra, or even a meerkat, without even having to switch on the television.
