LITTLE Alfie Conroy (6) got to meet Dublin Zoo’s newest resident, Stan the T-Rex, at the opening of the much-anticipated Zoorassic World.
Located in an old Victorian building, which originally opened in 1902 and has been restored to its breathtakingly beautiful, former glory, Zoorassic World is the zoo’s brand-new home for reptiles of the past and present. The centrepiece is Stan, a life-size replica fossil skeleton of a male adult Tyrannosaurus Rex that lived 65 million years ago.
Stan is 3.7 metres high, 12.2 metres in length and weighs between eight and nine tonnes.
Other replica dinosaur skeletons, which can be found at Zoorassic World, include a Velociraptor, Oviraptor, Anhanguera, an Archaeopteryx plus life-sized replicas of a Galapagos tortoise and a Komodo dragon.
It’s also now home to Dublin Zoo’s living reptiles, which comprises 12 species including West African crocodiles, a king rat snake, a forest dragon, a green tree python and a turquoise dwarf gecko. Many of the living reptiles are part of international breeding programmes for endangered species. Leo Oosterweghel, Director of Dublin Zoo, said everybody at the zoo couldn’t be prouder of Zoorassic World.
“Our vision was inspired by the interests of our younger visitors,” he revealed.
“Many very talented people worked on the project, from the restoration team to the dinosaur, animal and plant experts.
“The opening of Zoorassic World is another milestone on our journey to continue to develop Dublin Zoo into a world-class zoo and provide an excellent visitor experience.
“Our goal is to inspire and educate visitors on the fascinating world of reptiles.” Team leader at Dublin Zoo, Garth De Jong, says the reptiles are settling in very well to their new home.
“We are thrilled to say that Dublin Zoo’s reptiles have adapted well to their spacious and sunny surroundings,” he added.
“They are spending lots of time exploring their new environments which have been designed to reflect their wild habitats.”
For more details on Zoorassic World, see www.facebook.com/dublinzoo and www.dublinzoo.ie.
