invisible lions in dublin zoo

fran17

went to the zoo yesterday,which is always a good day out,but for me the highlight was going to be the African lions.looked it up online beforehand to see the layout of the zoo and the location of the African lion enclosure in particular.so I found the enclosure location,great.
paid our admittance fees,which aint cheap,checked the zoo map and the mini maps you receive on entry,lions located in same area,great.we done the whole tour and arrived finally at the lion location to find that it does not existso on inquiry I discover that the last African lion in Dublin zoo died in august of 2012!
come on Dublin zoo,aint it time to inform the public that one of the star attractions no longer reside there?

mistress_gi

What? Mo way, only a month ago I was in phoenix park and hear very clearly a lion roar, unless they play recordings the lions are definitely there!

kneemos

Thread title promised much but delivered little.

Gran Hermano

In today's news, Dublin zoo caught lying!

Bloody cheetahs.

Lumbo

kneemos wrote: »

Thread title promised much but delivered little.

Move on, there's nothing to see here.

D1stant

I was there 3 weeks ago and the Lions were on view - 1 male & 2 females. But a lot of other animals were AWOL. Felt a bit peeved tbh. The Zoo could do with a facelift - all the signs are tatty and worn and they really need to fix the overpriced crappy food stalls

PucaMama

ive been there and seen lions???

Collie D

The lions are still there. Was there a couple of months ago and they weren't out in the public viewing area either but could see one in area behind it through a gap. They're moving them to a bigger enclosure I think.

Dr Turk Turkelton

Gran Hermano wrote: »

In today's news, Dublin zoo caught lying!

Bloody cheetahs.

A leopard never changes it's spots.

SEPT 23 1989

The lion who owned MGM studios was born in Dublin Zoo

WoollyRedHat

Gran Hermano wrote: »

In today's news, Dublin zoo caught lying!

Bloody cheetahs.

Don't you mean " In today's news, Dublin zoo caught lion!"?

Dr Turk Turkelton

I've a feline which way this thread is going to go.

Tilly

The monkeys are where it's at anyway.

Teyla Emmagan

D1stant wrote: »

I was there 3 weeks ago and the Lions were on view - 1 male & 2 females. But a lot of other animals were AWOL. Felt a bit peeved tbh. The Zoo could do with a facelift - all the signs are tatty and worn and they really need to fix the overpriced crappy food stalls

The food in the zoo is desperate. The meerkat place is the best of it, and it's still like a school canteen. Crappy paper cups and chips with everything. And the other food places are even worse. Dirty, lousy service by disinterested young wans, big queues, tables never cleaned off, the smell of lard everywhere. I am always surprised by the evidence of human obesity when I go to the zoo (for some reason it seems to attract families of massive people), but I don't see why all the food choices have to be targeted towards them. Could they not have one nice clean place where you could get a decent cup of coffee, and maybe a bowl of soup or a sandwich? Somewhere that doesn't have a totally feral vibe to it? It's expensive enough in without forcing you to eat utter sh*t on top of it.

Boom_Bap

The best time to go to the zoo is near closing time. This is when the big cats start to get more mobile and come right up to the glass.
It's either close to feeding time or the cats know they are not going to be harassed by humanoids or the sedatives for the day are wearing off.
That's just my experience.

CarrickMcJoe

Oh come on OP. You want us all to ring Dublin Zoo and ask have have they Annie Lyons there!

aaabbbb

Dublin zoo as far as I remember reading somewhere has one female african lion left who is old and not on display. Apparently the zoo has decided to focus on the asian lion as its a more endangered species rather than getting new african lions.

suicide_circus

I find zoos grim and tragic places.

Graces7

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

The food in the zoo is desperate. The meerkat place is the best of it, and it's still like a school canteen. Crappy paper cups and chips with everything. And the other food places are even worse. Dirty, lousy service by disinterested young wans, big queues, tables never cleaned off, the smell of lard everywhere. I am always surprised by the evidence of human obesity when I go to the zoo (for some reason it seems to attract families of massive people), but I don't see why all the food choices have to be targeted towards them. Could they not have one nice clean place where you could get a decent cup of coffee, and maybe a bowl of soup or a sandwich? Somewhere that doesn't have a totally feral vibe to it? It's expensive enough in without forcing you to eat utter sh*t on top of it.

so take a lovely picnic

Techno_Toaster

CarrickMcJoe wrote: »

Oh come on OP. You want us all to ring Dublin Zoo and ask have have they Annie Lyons there!

I remember when Dublin Zoo were inundated with calls for Rory Lyons,Anna Conda and Me G. Raffe. That was the final straw for them and they got an automated answering machine

Dyr

aaabbbb wrote: »

. Apparently the zoo has decided to focus on the asian lion as its a more endangered species rather than getting new african lions.

hipster ****ing lions now is it

Place has gone to sh**e

rovoagho

D1stant wrote: »

I was there 3 weeks ago and the Lions were on view - 1 male & 2 females.

This is correct. The last /African/ lion, Sheila, died some time ago, and then there was a period with no lions, because the newbies are Asian lions and there needs to be a kind of quarantine period to prevent disease before new species is introduced.

There are a lot of reasons why they, or any animal, may not be on display but the likely one in this case is that it's time for the new male to sow his wild oats. They perform better with a little privacy, just like you and me. The tigers come off display for the same reason. You can usually hear them, they make a hell of a racket.

Setting aside the condition of the Zoo - it's the most popular attraction in Ireland, so they're not short of a few Bob, but they have invested huge amounts in the African Plains in recent years - what people need to realise about modern zoos is that the animals aren't really there for your benefit, you're there for theirs.

Lapin

Dr Turk Turkelton wrote: »

I've a feline which way this thread is going to go.

That'll throw the cat among the pigeons.

wicklowstevo

I was in the zoo the paddys day week end and there were lions , in fact one of them was right up to the glass licking it , bleeeeeeeding deadly it was , next time i suggest smuggling in a steak or something

Teyla Emmagan

Graces7 wrote: »

so take a lovely picnic

Actually I normally do!

Kur4mA

So hang on... are the invisible lions there or not OP? 3/10 would not trust again.

Cupcake_Crisis

Was there last Monday, definitely saw lions! Very relaxed so they were.

But a lot of the animals were either gone or in hiding. Most exiting part was when a herring jumped up on our table and stole my dates chicken. I know the sign say's don't feed the birds..but what's the protocol when they help themselves?

Guy:Incognito

Could they not just dress up some dogs?

Tordelback

As an earlier poster said, there are Asian lions, in the lefthand corner as you come in. The African lions, over on the right opposite the African Plains, have died and are not being replaced. The Asian lions are gorgeous, and their enclosure is pretty spacious. Dublin Zoo's ongoing modernisation programme is one of the most impressive and sustained projects you're likely to see in this country: the current Elephant and Gorilla habitats are world-class.

fathead82

Cupcake_Crisis wrote: »

Most exiting part was when a herring jumped up on our table and stole my dates chicken. I know the sign say's don't feed the birds..but what's the protocol when they help themselves?

Is a herring not a fish?

I hate zoos,the animals always look depressed.

rovoagho

They meant Heron.

Inner city zoos have more trouble than wildlife parks because of lack of space, but to be fair to Dublin, they've done a magnificent job with the African Plains, and although I haven't psychoanalysed the animals individually, they have to be more comfortable now than they used to be.

Unlike circuses, zoos have an important part to play these days. The problems they're helping with were mostly caused by us, but without them far more animals would be extinct now. I think at this stage the positives probably outweigh the negatives. Hopefully, at some point, we'll be able to dispense with them, but it won't be for a good long while.

aaabbbb

fathead82 wrote: »

Is a herring not a fish?

I hate zoos,the animals always look depressed.

Yep a herring is a fish I think the poster meant heron of which there are a few of in Dublin zoo

Cupcake_Crisis

fathead82 wrote: »

Is a herring not a fish?

I hate zoos,the animals always look depressed.

I meant heron. Would have been much more impressive if it WAS a herring though...

Thespoofer

The cats out of the bag.....

Dr Turk Turkelton

Cupcake_Crisis wrote: »

I meant heron. Would have been much more impressive if it WAS a herring though...

I think she was just trying to cod us.

Cupcake_Crisis

Dr Turk Turkelton wrote: »

I think she was just trying to cod us.

Don't be fishing for thanks.

deise08

Cupcake_Crisis wrote: »

Don't be fishing for thanks.

Thread moved to Waterford city forum ha ha ha cleayboy incident

deise08

Sorry mods. I couldn't resist.
I'm hoping to go to Dublin tomorrow. I'd like. n try to get the zoo in.
last time was there I could hear lions but couldn't see a jot

Dr Turk Turkelton

deise08 wrote: »

Sorry mods. I couldn't resist.
I'm hoping to go to Dublin tomorrow. I'd like. n try to get the zoo in.
last time was there I could hear lions but couldn't see a jot

Nicely done but I sealions there all the time.

Calibos

The best time for Sea Lions is feeding time where the keeper throws the big pussy cats raw fish.

RayM

I was at the zoo last year, and they weren't invisible.

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller

Hang on, wasn't Beyonce there recently.

Coincidence?

fran17

D1stant wrote: »

I was there 3 weeks ago and the Lions were on view - 1 male & 2 females. But a lot of other animals were AWOL. Felt a bit peeved tbh. The Zoo could do with a facelift - all the signs are tatty and worn and they really need to fix the overpriced crappy food stalls

yes you did see lions there but they were Asian lions,the African lions poor cousin.for me,and I think many others, in any zoo the African male lion is the star of the show and if Dublin zoo no longer have them on show they should update there information maps me thinks

rovoagho

Don't like Asians, eh OP?

deise08

I hear you're a racist now father :-)

Riddle101

No Lions at the zoo? A red herring maybe that Winter is Coming. But not before the long summer passes.

suicide_circus

suicide_circus wrote: »

I find zoos grim and tragic places.

They can be, but they can be valuable in a conservation context if they have active breeding programs for endangered species.

CarrickMcJoe

Techno_Toaster wrote: »

I remember when Dublin Zoo were inundated with calls for Rory Lyons,Anna Conda and Me G. Raffe. That was the final straw for them and they got an automated answering machine[

Mate of mine tried it on me saying that some Annie Lyons phoned him from Dublin airport looking for me to contact her.(said she hadn't got my no.)
Thing was, I actually was working for a woman called Annie Lyons who was flying to Germany that day.
True story.

Until reading this thread I genuinely did not know that there were such things as Asian lions.
I always thought it was just lions = Africa and tigers = Asia.

Son Of A Vidic

suicide_circus wrote: »

I find zoos grim and tragic places.

Indeed and why anyone would want to visit an animal prison and view animals that are not in their natural habitat is beyond me.

Shakespeare's Sister

I'd say that about circuses with animals definitely, but the purpose of a zoo is to protect particular species isn't it? So long as the zoo meets the required standards of course.