June 24, 2026

Saturday, June 20th: Dublin Zoo

By Jaime Hickey

On the weekend, we all chose our own places to go, and on Saturday, Professor Meg Baronian and I went to Dublin Zoo. It was an amazing experience. There were so many cool animals. The habitats were very spacious and well designed. The zoo even had many life-sized statues of different types of animals built out of Legos next to the enclosures.

Jaime in front of a life-sized Lego replica of a Tiger at Dublin Zoo — Jaime and the Lego Tiger

life sized replica of a male lion with a cub at its side. A yellow sign saying African Lion hangs in front — A Lego Lion

A life sized Lego leopard crouched on a Lego log — A Lego Leopard

For me the most memorable part of the visit was seeing the male lion up and walking and in the next enclosure, four lionesses. Lionesses are one of my favorite animals, yet this was the first time I’ve ever seen them in real life up this close.

An African Lion under a tree in its enclosure, grass and rocks in the foreground — Male African Lion

A female in a Plexiglas enclosure looking out at the visitors. The hand of a child up against the plexiglass — Female African Lion

Two female lions in their outdoor enclosure, one standing, one lying on a patch of dirt next to grass and stones. — Two females

I also loved seeing the three Asian elephants, and many giraffes, zebras, and ostriches all in the same enclosure. There was even one young giraffe who kept following around an ostrich, and that made many of us who saw it laugh.

A young giraffe chasing an ostrich—trees and a hut in the background — Giraffe Chasing Ostrich

The many different types of apes and monkeys were also interesting to watch. We saw gorillas, chimpanzees, gibbons, and an orangutang. The Sulawesi crested macaques were the most active animals interacting with each other in their outdoor enclosure. As we left, we saw them rummaging through straw trying to find their food.

Monkeys gathered at the end of bridge, in the brush. A monkey runs across. — Monkeys

Two Monkeys crossing a bridge, clouds reflected in the water below them — Monkeys

We saw a cheetah and an African spurred tortoise. We also saw these beautiful snow leopards curled up in their den, okapis, three cute red pandas, seal lions, African penguins, and more!

In the evening Meg and I went to an Italian restaurant. It was also cool how Professor Meg and I got to learn more about each other too during this trip.