Belfast Zoo

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View of Belfast from the zoo

Belfast Zoo (also known as Bellevue Zoo) is a zoo in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The zoo started as Bellevue Pleasure Gardens, a public park and recreational area, in 1911 on the slopes of Cavehill. The gardens were opened by Belfast City Tramways as an inducement to Belfast's residents to use the company's new tramway. Twelve acres of the site were redeveloped as a zoo in 1933. Initially the zoo was very popular, attracting over 280,000 visitors a year. During World War II many of the zoo's dangerous animals were put down. The decline continued into the 1960s, when the zoo's facilities fell into disrepair. Belfast City Council acquired the facility in 1962, starting a long process of renovation. Under the supervision of manager John Stronge, the new zoo eventually opened in 1978.

The zoo houses many animals including elephants, polar bears, lions, tigers, penguins and gorillas. Other popular residents are the Californian Sealions, Malayan Tapirs and François Langurs.

[edit] Recent developments

In February 2006 the zoo celebrated the birth of Benny, a Malayan Tapir. Benny is the fifth calf born at the zoo, as part of a world-wide breeding program to increase the numbers of the endangered animals. Another recent arrival is Ballybrack, a giraffe who is being hand reared. Early in 2007 the Zoo celebrated a record level of visitors with 258,000 people visiting the 55 acre site. Also early in 2007 the zoo celebrated a baby boom with the arrival of a baby Moloch Gibbon, a baby purple faced langur, a litter of saddleback pigs, and two baby ring-tailed lemurs. Zoo staff are also awaiting the birth of the first Barbary Lion in Ireland.

In 2005 the zoo survived a bid to have it closed. Councillor Chris McGimpsey from the Ulster Unionist Party raised the issue, citing the zoo's annual losses of £40,000 and his opposition to animal captivity. [1]. In the next election McGimpsey failed to be re-elected to office.

Located within the grounds of the zoo is the 1930s art deco ballroom, The Floral Hall. The hall has been derelict since the outbreak of the The Troubles in the 1970s. Belfast Buildings Preservation Trust are planning to renovate the building, although Belfast City Council have yet to provide any funding. A lengthy search for a wealthy entrepreneur to fund the redevelopment of the building has so far proved fruitless.