Fota Wildlife Park is situated on Fota Island in County Cork, Ireland, offering an exciting range of mammals and birds alongside many enjoyable family activities and attractions. As one of Ireland’s ten most popular tourist attractions, the wildlife park has something to offer for people of all ages whether it is seeing some of its many animals up close or enjoying one of the cultural events held that park.
There are a wide array of animals and birds at Fota Wildlife Park including cheetahs, giraffes, penguins and seals for animal-lovers to see up close. Fota Wildlife Park is a favourite with families and offers a lot for kids including guided tours and talks as well as summer camps. After a day looking at all of the animals, the Savannah Cafe and Oasis Cafe at each side of the park is the ideal place to unwind and enjoy a drink or a snack and are also home to children’s play areas to keep them occupied. One of the park’s most renowned attractions is the Cheetah Run, where the cheetahs are fed by a wire that travels at 65 kilometres per hour to replicate the behaviour of prey in the wild.
Visitors flying into the region will find Cork Airport is ideally situated within travelling distance from Fota Wildlife Park and Fota Island. The airport is the second busiest in Ireland handling over 2.2 million passengers each year. Located only 6.5 kilometres from the centre of Cork, the airport provides flights to various destinations around Europe. Cork County has its own public bus service which provides travel to most of the county’s towns, while taxis are also popular and an ideal way to get to destinations directly.
Fota Wildlife Park currently ranks as Ireland’s ninth most popular attraction and brings in around 436,000 visitors annually. The wildlife park was first opened in 1983 and has recently opened up an Asian sanctuary in 2015. The park is known for its endeavours to preserve a healthy and natural habitat for the animals to live in and adopts a free-range approach which allows the animals to roam and mix.