20/03/2019

Belfast Zoo To Celebrate 85th Birthday With Family Fun Day

Belfast Zoo will soon be celebrating its 85th birthday with a fun filled adventure day offering a treasure hunt and 85 fantastic prizes.

The birthday party will take place on Saturday 30 March and will feature a host of activities, including live history tales, animal feeding times, juggling workshops, garden games and street entertainment.

Belfast Lord Mayor, Councillor Deirdre Hargey, said: "We are encouraging everyone to join in the celebrations and enjoy one of our important visitor attractions on this fun day for all the family.

"Most people I am sure will have their own memories of Belfast Zoo to share and this is a great occasion to do it. The older generation will have fond memories of climbing the steps that used to lead to Bellevue and these can still be glimpsed as visitors now drive past towards the new entrance.

"The Zoo has evolved so much over the years, it has become very much a conservation and education facility, taking part in more than 60 collaborative breeding programmes and providing a home to rescued animals. However birthdays are for celebrating the past and the future and it's a day for all ages to come together. Parents and grandparents will be able to share their memories with today's youngsters as well as enjoy over 600 animals and a whole host of activities.

"Everyone can have fun hunting for the commemorative coins that will be hidden around the site to win prizes including free zoo memberships, animal adoptions, Junior Keeper for A Day experiences and super souvenirs," the Lord Mayor concluded.

The Zoo originally opened in March 1934 and was home to tigers, polar bears, baboons, kangaroos, camels, brown bears and leopards among other species. Today, it remains on the scenic Cavehill site and is home to over 120 species of animal including elephants, lions, giraffes, Andean bears, penguins, sea lions and much more.

The celebrations will get underway at 10am and run until 4pm, with the last admission to the zoo at 2.30pm. Normal admission fees will apply.

Join the fun and sign up to enjoy the many events:

• Juggling workshops

• Street entertainment

• Live history tales 

• Garden games 

• Animal feeding times

• Keeper talks 

• Face painting.

More information can be found here .



(JG/CM)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

11 January 2008
New Visitor Centre For Belfast Zoo
Construction has begun on a new, £600,000 state of the art visitor centre at Belfast Zoo. The new entrance pavilion will include a new souvenir shop, pay-booths and payment systems, a covered walkway for wet weather shelter and a tourist exhibition space focussing on native and non-native wildlife.
27 August 2001
Belfast Zoo reopens farm area
Belfast Zoo has reopened the rare breeds farm area for the bank holiday weekend after a prolonged period of closure. The zoo farm area, particularly popular with younger visitors, has been closed as part of the precautions taken at the zoo since the foot-and-mouth outbreak in February.
03 October 2014
Red Squirrels Released Into Wild
Four red squirrels born at Belfast Zoo have been released into the wild at Glenarm estate in County Antrim. Zoo curator and chairperson of the Belfast Zoo native species group, Alyn Cairns, explained: "Here at the zoo, we care for and conserve a variety of endangered species from across the world.
15 February 2006
Belfast Zoo to receive award
Belfast Zoo, in partnership with Queen's University's Scholl of Psychology, has today received a prestigious ward from the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ for ‘Best Research Project’. This is the highest award given by the BIAZA, and was given for the innovative research on ‘Auditory Enrichment for Zoo-housed Gorillas’.
06 January 2010
Cold Eye Turned On Zoo Animals
Belfast Zoo re-opened today as freezing conditions eased - only to close again shortly before noon as a blizzard enveloped eastern parts of NI. The news came as Zoo keepers began undertaking a complete head count of every animal as part of the facility's licensing regulations.