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Adverse weather conditions have been blamed for a 57 percent increase in animal deaths at Dublin Zoo, where several endangered species were among the 83 creatures that died in 2018.
They included two of the zoo’s five eastern bongos, critically endangered native African antelopes and a female ring-tailed lemur, of which only 2,000 are believed to remain in the wild.
Three gray wolves also died at the zoo during the 12-month period, along with a female ostrich, three thin-tailed meerkats, and one of their three okapis, an endangered species also known as a zebra giraffe.
Two endangered white-naped mangabeys were also among the dead, one of whom died within 30 days of birth, along with a male Rodrigues flying fox, which is an endangered species of bat.
The highest-profile death to occur at the Dublin Zoo in 2018 was that of Lena, one of its five western lowland gorillas, who was reported to have died of an unknown disease in September of that year.
She was 35 years old and had given birth seven times since arriving at the zoo in 1988. Her most recent calf was born in 2016 after she mated with silver-backed gorilla Harry, who died of a stroke that same year.
A Humboldt penguin, which has a “vulnerable” conservation status, also died at the zoo in 2018; along with one of the two little egrets, a type of little heron.
In all, 83 animals died at Dublin Zoo in 2018, compared to 53 during the previous year, according to its latest annual report.
A spokesperson for the zoo noted that 40 of the deaths that occurred in 2018 were of neonatal or pre-feathered age, 34 of which were pre-feathered birds. In 2017, 17 of the 53 deaths related to animals of neonatal or pre-feathered age.
“Therefore, the increase in deaths between 2017 and 2018 was due to an increase in pre-chick bird deaths. This increase could have been the result of adverse weather conditions in the period shortly after hatching, a phenomenon that also occurs in nature, “he said.
“The physical and psychological well-being of the animals in our care is paramount to Dublin Zoo. However, just like in nature, animals also die under human care. In every such situation, the best veterinary care and care is provided. We regret the loss of all the animals, ”added the spokesperson.
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