Zoo news – February 2025

February has been a busy month for the zoo with lots of work going on behind the scenes. From updates to enclosures and health checks, the team have been busy preparing for our fast-approaching opening day, at the end of March.

A spring in our step: Coming out of torpor as the temperature rises!

As we begin to exit winter, Raven our resident raccoon will begin to become more active as temperatures rise. She will start to move around her habitat a lot more and become more visible as we begin to welcome guests back for the upcoming season!

There are a lot of other animals that will be coming out of torpor in the coming months. Lots of Irish wildlife use this fascinating adaptation to survive the harsh winter months, including the following:

Bats – lots of Irish bat species enter torpor during colder months when insects, their main food source, is scarce. Some bats may enter a state of torpor for just a few hours or days to save energy during cold spells.

Badgers – badgers engage in torpor for several weeks or days when the weather is cold. Their body temperatures will decrease, and they will often remain in their dens, known as setts, and metabolise fat reserves that they built up when food was more abundant. If the weather is exceptionally cold, badgers may use a latrine (like a toilet) inside the sett, rather than braving the colder weather outside. As we move through February and into March, badgers will begin to spend more time away from their set.

Robins – robins will fluff up their feathers to trap heat and often enter mild torpor overnight to reduce energy loss. This allows them to survive Ireland’s cold wintery nights.

A European robin (Erithacus rubecula) fluffed up to keep warm. Source Putmanandrobinsshop

Zoo husbandry technique: Egg pulling and dummy eggs

Removing eggs from the nest of a bird allows us to manage breeding more effectively. Eggs are pulled at approximately halfway through the respective incubation period. This gives the birds enough time to get used to sitting on a nest, and there will be less risk of the nest being abandoned, with the female beginning her reproductive cycle again too quickly.

Pulling eggs before halfway through the incubation period, or not giving dummy eggs, can lead to complications with the female’s health. It can cause the female to try to enter a reproductive cycle again too quickly which can lead to her becoming egg bound. This can then lead to severe health complications including death. Depleting the calcium stocks in her body from trying to produce shells can also be a side effect of pulling eggs too quickly. Depleted calcium stocks can lead to the bird drawing calcium from her bones which leads to further health complications.

Written by zookeeper Cian

Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo), Elektra, sitting on eggs in her scrape

Valentines’ day at Emerald Park Zoo: Love is in the air for our breeding pairs

Our Zoo is home to a number of species that are part of an EEP (EAZA Ex-Situ Programme), meaning that they are of special conservation concern. Some of these species are part of breeding programmes and so individuals have been carefully matched, by a specialist stud bookkeeper, who works very carefully to ensure that pairs are genetically viable.

This Valentine’s Day we celebrated these breeding pairs and all of the amazing behavioural and physiological adaptations that animals have evolved all in the name of love!

Some of the breeding pairs in Emerald Park:

African white-headed vultures (Trigonoceps occipitalis) 

Aptly names Romeo and Juliette, these two have a special enclosure that is off show to the public where their love can flourish in private.

Bush dogs (Speothos venaticu)

Missy and Pedro only met last year but they had an instant connection leading to the birth of three health puppies in June 2024.

Silvery marmosets (Mico argentatus)

Honey and Geralt have been inseparable since they were introduced to each other in 2023.

Thanks for reading. Check back next month for more zoo updates!

The Emerald Park Zoo Team