Fota Wildlife Park – the most amazing place in Ireland! It opened its gates in 1983, and since then it remains one of Ireland’s top ten visitor attractions, and a perfect place to spend a day for visitors of all ages. Most of the animals who inhabit the park are allowed to roam throughout more than 50 acres of grassland, with the exception of the cheetahs and other predators. Almost “The Lion and the Lamb” settings 🙂
King Julien XIII and his people together with many other animals are free ranging in the Park and mingle with the visitors. I just couldn’t help taking their portraits ( hundreds).
We were lucky to come across a whole Ring-tailed Lemur gang sitting in the tree. In the beginning I thought there were only two animals, but all of a sudden they started falling off the tree like ripe pears.
Six or seven Lemurs jumped from the tree, one after another, and run away. We met two of them again. They were perching within a stretched arm distance, pretending to ignore us. I didn’t see the others, but I knew that they were hiding somewhere near.
There is a pond surrounding the Monkey Island. All the water fowl are free ranging, but the edge of the pond is surprisingly clean.
Many animals In Fota Wildlife Park are allowed to roam free, while mixed with other species. A tiny barrier stops the human visitors from trespassing. Rothschild Giraffe is another beautiful species living in the Park together with Zebras and female Ostriches.
Foggy Irish countryside in background.
The Monkey Island is a home for monkeys, of course. In Fota Wildlife Park they have chosen the species that can be allowed to roam in a free range environment, and are not aggressive to each other.
This is an Agile Gibbon – an old one, and a mother with a baby.
This is a Howler monkey female.
Fota Wildlife Park is home to the Scarlet, Green winged and Blue & Gold Macaws. The birds roost high up in trees, and while the species have bred at Fota in the past, there haven’t been any young hatched in recent years.
Over 200 Cheetah cubs have been born in Fota since 1985. Fota also has Ireland’s only Cheetah Run. The device keeps the Cheetahs active, while maintaining their wild instincts. The food is suspended on a wire that travels 10 feet off the ground, at approximately 65km/h. Hundreds of spectators gather to watch the Cheetahs feeding at 3pm every day. Cheetahs and a few other species live in fenced enclosures.
The weather wasn’t good, it was raining. We thought we would have the island for ourselves. Well, we had to go around to find a parking spot. Always busy in Fota.
I share my birthday with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I am very proud of that – I loved his books before I found out when his birthday was. His most-read novella, The Little Prince, is translated into more than 250 languages, and selling two millions copies every year. I have a copy like this one.
There are two the most cited quotes in the novella: On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux – “One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” And the other: Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé – “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” I thought about both of them in Fota, watching young children reverently feed the waterfowl. For them, this trip was looked forward to with a great deal of excitement, discussions and research. New names were learned, new discoveries made, but the greatest of all the experiences they got here is that change in heart that can become a prelude to many other beautiful experiences.
Thank you for visiting Fota Island with me!
Photography tip of the day: When taking photographs of animals definitely change your focus to a “Single point” and focus on the eye, otherwise your camera will automatically focus on the point closest to the lens – which is animal’s nose.
Have a great weekend!
Nice tip of the day. Thank you
Thank you so much! 🙂 I am not doing the tips anymore – quit it…
so pity 😦
Oh thank you so much! I just thought that I cannot tell anything new in a couple of short sentences. Either I give a proper advice, or I quit.
Are zebras supposed to be that… fat? 🙂
Are they? 🙂
Stunning pics–every single one.
Thank you so much for stopping by! 🙂
Believe me, It is a pleasure. You are wonderfully talented.
Oh thank you for your kindness, I am just a photographer 🙂
Everything here. Astounding pics! …There’s even a herd of cars! 😀
I read, The Little Prince not too long ago. 😉
Thank you for stopping by! This is a book to reread often 🙂
Wowww, I thought of Twilight when I read the post title. The pictures are so beautiful, I loved the animals esp the Lemur ❤
Oh you make me smile 🙂 Glad to meet another person who knows Twilight well 🙂 I was thinking about the book of Revelations where it is said that the lion and the lamb will live together peaceably after the evil is taken away from the Earth. These animals truly live together in peace.
Ohh, So you are a Twilight fan too 😀
Some time back, I wrote a poem for Edward Cullen !
Yes, lets home someday there will be peace and harmony in this world 🙂
A lot depends on ourselves.
yes, agreed 🙂
Beautiful pictures! But where are the lion and lamb pics? 8*)
Haha, it is only a marketing trick to attract the readers :p
On a serious note, it is an amazing place where all these different species are living side by side, as in the Scriptures 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!
Gorgeous. Pure gorgeous.
Thank you! 🙂
I’m just an old fashioned photographer raised on Weston light meters and manual focusing – until recently. I had never given thought to the automatic focusing gizmo and the “eye” advice. Thanks! Your (I think its a) duck photo with the hand took first place for a shot. 🙂
Ah, that picture, a funny looking duck 🙂
Well. just this afternoon I used a film camera with the manual focus, and will use it tomorrow too:)
Those lemur pictures are fantastic.
Thank you! They are not camera shy:)
I’m amazed that they’re able to endure the weather in Ireland. Lucky for you (and everybody who enjoys your photos) that they can. 🙂
They have a lot of fat on them, and the weather is still mild. These are probably the third generation:)
My boy enjoyed the photos. The giraffes in triangular formation are cool and the gold macaw is so beautiful. I should get The Little Prince. Will do so from the library. =)
Thank you so much! Glad your little one enjoyed the animal images. Definitely read The little Prince. It is a heartbreaking story, but very refining.
Hugs!
Wonderful photos, Ines!!! 🙂
Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
Lovely pictures. The lemurs are my faves. 🙂
Thank you! Glad you like the pictures:)
Hello Inese,
Such an amazing series!! I love lemurs, and your photograph them (and all the wonderful animals) so beautifully! I would love to visit here someday…I can dream about it. As always, thank you for sharing the beauty. My best wishes to you and your family!!
Warm wishes,
Takami 🙂 ❤
Takami, thank you for your kind comment! It is a honor to hear a word of approval from you. It was my first seeing of a lemur out of the cage, and I was delighted!
My best wishes,
Inese
It’s my pleasure & honour too 🙂 And it must have been very exciting indeed, to see the lemur out of his cage and enjoying freedom. I’d definitely love to visit this beautiful place someday. Until then, I will admire it through your lens! Have a lovely weekend 🙂
Thank you! You too! 🙂
The lemurs are beautiful creatures… in fact all the animals you took pictures of are beautiful… looks like such a nice place to visit 😉
Thank you for stopping by! It is a great place indeed, especially because the animals are so healthy and happy. 🙂
I love The Little Prince. We studied it in French class in college.
Excellent photo tip!
Thanks, Inese.
Thank you Emily Grace! Sorry I am too caught in life lately and haven’t visited your blog a whole week… i will catch up! Inese
Great shots of a fascinating place! By the way, ‘The Little Prince’? One of the top ten books of the 20th century! Clearly!
Thank you! I love all the creatures. Great that there are places like Fota where they can enjoy their life and bring joy to us humans too.
Beautiful photos and such a lovely story in the context of the Little Prince 🙂
Thank you! I can read the story again and again, and cry every time I read.
What beautiful animals, sometimes I think they’re even prettier than us humans, isn’t that something? That they might actually have more virtues than us?
Maria – I agree that animals are beautiful and pure. Thank you for your kind comment!
Beautiful pictures but that first monkey….was kind of freaky with those eyes, what was that!! 😉
Did you watch the Madagascar cartoon? Remember one of those? A Lemur. 🙂
Lovely! I want to visit this beautiful sanctuary!
Truly beautiful. Many other animals live there, and all very close to the visitors. I guess that monkeys cannot swim – it was only a narrow strip of water between the visitors and the Monkey island.
What a fabulous park! I love your photos. It had to be grand being able to visit all those different animals. I love this quote “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” I wish more people would take it to heart. 🙂
Thank you Linda! I too love this quote. It answers many questions.
Love these photographs. Especially the gibbon 🙂
Thank you! He was making faces and impolite gestures, and showing his teeth:)
No shots of the impolite gestures!
We were busy laughing 🙂
Wonderful to see a wildlife park that allows the animals so much space. They look very healthy and well-cared for, and your photos show off their markings with stunning clarity.
Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting! I have never been so close to any exotic animal. Happy like a child 🙂
Hi Ines! I enjoyed coming along with you to such a notable tourist attraction 🙂 I think your photos are beautiful and catch the amazing sights so well. I liked the lemurs and giraffes the best, although it was very hard to choose favorites! The eyes on the lemurs are so captivating, aren’t they? 🙂
Thank you for stopping by, Christy! It was my first close visit with lemurs, and I was lucky that some of them didn’t mind modeling. I envy their keepers…
What a wondrous place — and filled with characters from so many species. This is a delightful post, Inese. Hugs.
Happy place. All the animals look like home. Hugs!
Did you notice that in the first bird photo all three of the flamingoes (?) and the duck are standing on one leg? Loved the photos, I must figure out where Fota Island is in case I get back to Ireland.
Thank you for stopping by! Yes, I did notice:). It was so funny, as if he pretended being a flamingo 🙂
Fota Island is near Cork, just a few kilometers from Cobh, a Titanic town.
Wow! Very nice photos! I love the ringtail shots – don’t they always look surprised? And the one with his little tongue sticking out… These are really superb shots!
P.S. Happy birthday!
Thank you Ann 🙂 I just mentioned that I have a shared birthday with an author of The Little Prince, but we were both born in the end of June:)
Thank you Ann! They do look a little bit surprised, this one especially. He posed me at least ten minutes before he jumped off the tree, and the others didn’t pose but hurried behind him. He must be their leader or something.
What a gorgeous place to experience and a privilege to photograph these amazing creatures in such an environment!
Thank you Alisa! It is amazing to see these healthy and apparently happy animals free ranging and hurrying home in the end of the day. Most of them were born here.
Thats the catch! To see them healthy and happy. Really enjoyed seeing these photos.
Thank you for you kind comments! 🙂
Lovely posting, Inese, text and pictures and such lovely memories for me rekindled.
Thank You
john
Glad I entertained you with this post, John!
My best wishes!
Inese
Very nice of pictures of touring the park. These are beautiful animals. I also like the concept of free roaming. I am wondering about Cheetah. I read the mentioning about the “device”. Does the device help contain the Cheetah (and perhaps other predators too)?
Thank you for reading! 🙂 Cheetah run is something I have never seen before.They have a huge enclosure where they can run around the perimeter. There is a special feeding device swinging a chunk of meat and moving it with the speed of 40mi/h around the perimeter so that cheetahs feel like hunting:) They chase the meal, and one of them gets it – everything like in the wild.
Love the photo of the ‘three headed giraffe’ – a new species? 🙂 And those lemurs have such lovable faces.
Thank you Andrea! Lovely and very mischievous 🙂
Glad you noticed that image:) The giraffes were far away, but their position was so interesting that I took the picture:) 🙂
Great shots – This looks like it was so much fun. Perhaps the next time we visit Ireland we can make a stop there.
Thank you! Definitely visit! It is near Cobh, a Titanic city. Cork is near too, great place to visit.
Great post indeed. The Cheetah run sounds incredible and all the animal shots are fabulous.It’s good to know the animals seemed happy. It’s always difficult to strike a balance… And thanks for the tip as usual! 🙂
Thank you for reading, Olga! Yes, they are very relaxed, and seem happy. Cheetah run is something I have never seen before. They are dragging a chunk of meat in the circle ( about 300m? 1m high?) and all the cheetahs are running along and trying to catch it. The speed is about 65km/h Amazing to see these beautiful animals doing what they do best 🙂
Oh my! Love the idea to be close by to them without cage etc..I love the lemur photos..they are so cute and look bit sneaky at the same time. Enjoy your post and photos!
Thank you Indah! Sneaky they are 🙂 Have never had them so close.
I can’t believe there was almost no barrier between you and the animals. What an awesome experience!
There was a barrier between me and the cheetahs 🙂 A tiger was in an enclosure too. The other animals could step over the barrier if they wanted. Amazing, and the animals seemed very happy.
Wonderful animal photos!
Thank you! 🙂
What would you do if you only had one day to live?
“Take overy a small country and impose my will on them wether they wanted me to or not. ” – King Julian. 🙂
Thank you, Lisa! 🙂 You can read it on their faces:)
You gave me a wonderful journey thru the animal kingdom today, thank you!
Thank you for stopping by! They have some 70 species, all happily living and multiplying in spacious enclosures, or roaming free wherever they like.
There are a lot of beautiful images in this blog post! The one with the Lemur flying through the air is awesome lol.
Thank you! 🙂 It happened in front of me – the first two jumped off the tree and the others started to appear one by one from nowhere and followed. I was just standing and watching, mesmerized:)
Stunning images! Looks like a wonderful place! 🙂
Thank you! I have never been so close to exotic wildlife.:)
Thank YOU for bringing Fota Island to us. The lemurs were my favorites.
Thank you for stopping by! Aren’t they sweet? They are ready for the winter, gained some fat and soft fur. I bet the keepers pet them and kiss them 🙂
Awesome photographs!
Thank you John! Close shots.
Fota Wildlife Park is stunning dear Inese… And so are your photographs (no surprises)… I had never seen a Lemur neither i knew they were called that way… The giraffes and flamingos are amazingly beautiful. Great post, my friend. thanks for sharing and many hugs to you and yours!, Aquileana 😀 ⭐
Thank you, dear friend! Glad I entertained you 🙂 Love the lemurs – sweet creatures! Hugs!
Inese 🙂