Go wild at Fota Wildlife Park

A kangaroo hops out in front of you. A ring-tailed lemur jumps down from a tree. And a monkey swoops in and steals your lunch. It’s just another day at Fota Wildlife Park, a park in Co. Cork in Ireland that opened in 1983 and is home to almost 30 mammal and 50 bird species, including many endangered species.

You can travel by car or train to the park and spend the day seeing exotic animals in beautiful surroundings. There are enclosed areas for big animals like zebras, giraffes and bison, islands full of apes and monkeys, and a river where penguins and seals live. Visit the pond to feed bread to the ducks and drop in to the education centre to learn about ecology and conservation.

In the evening be sure to stop by the country’s only cheetah run to watch cheetahs chase their food. Cheetahs are the world’s fastest land animals but won’t run unless they have to. In the cheetah run, they have to run after their food as it travels along a wire at 65 kilometres an hour three metres off the ground, an activity that helps them to stay fit and healthy.

The park is open every day and costs €14 for adults to visit and €9 for people under 16 and students.