Minister of State Kevin “Boxer” Moran Officially Opens New Siamang Gibbon House at Fota Wildlife Park
Fota Wildlife Park was delighted to welcome the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Kevin “Boxer” Moran TD, to officially open its new state-of-the-art primate house. The new habitat was developed with the support of the Office of Public Works (OPW).
The new facility provides the Siamang gibbon family, comprising five individuals, with an expansive modern indoor environment and access to a large island habitat whenever the family chooses. Inside, specially designed heated walls, known as ‘cuddle walls’, let the family choose where to spend their time and how warm to be. The indoor accommodation is four times bigger than the previous house and is designed for natural climbing and swinging. The flexible design also allows animal care staff to separate individuals, as needed, for training and health checks.
For visitors, the new facility includes sheltered viewing areas and multiple viewing points that allow them to observe the Siamang gibbons’ acrobatic movements and their distinctive vocal duetting, whatever the weather, enhancing the visitor experience while offering fresh opportunities to learn about the species.
The Siamang gibbon is the largest of the gibbon species and is classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with wild numbers believed to have fallen by around half in the last 40 years as forests in Sumatra, Malaysia and Thailand are cleared and infants are taken for the illegal pet trade. Siamang gibbons have resided at Fota Wildlife Park since it opened in 1983, and Fota is part of an international breeding programme for this species.
Speaking at the official opening, Minister Moran said: “I’m delighted to be here today at Fota Wildlife Park to open this fantastic new facility for its Siamang gibbon family.
This new facility not only provides a much more spacious indoor environment for the gibbons, with access to a large island habitat, but also enhances the visitor experience, providing new opportunities to learn about these animals and their natural behaviour.
This wonderful addition to the Park also underlines the strong and continuing partnership between Fota Wildlife Park and the Office of Public Works.
The OPW’s support over the past number of years has enabled Fota Wildlife Park to progress important capital projects across animal care, education, conservation and sustainable infrastructure.
Partnerships such as this play an important role in protecting our natural heritage, supporting vital conservation work and ensuring that visitors can enjoy high-quality facilities for generations to come.”
The Chairman of Fota Wildlife Park, Simon Coveney said:
“On behalf of the Board of Governors and the team at Fota Wildlife Park, I would also like to express our sincere gratitude to all the teams involved in the design, development and construction of this wonderful addition to the gibbon habitat and to the visitor experience at Fota Wildlife Park.
As a conservation charity, we extend our particular gratitude to the Government of Ireland, and especially to the OPW for their continued commitment to Fota Wildlife Park’s capital development programme.
This long-term support has enabled us to deliver an ambitious programme of investment, helping to establish the Park as one of Ireland’s most important visitor attractions and a centre of excellence for species conservation, animal welfare and education.”
Aileen Tennant, Park Director, Fota Wildlife Park said:
“The new Siamang gibbon habitat provides significantly improved, enriched accommodation for the family, supporting their natural behaviours, while meeting the highest standards of animal husbandry and care.
Good animal welfare and good visitor experiences go hand in hand. A well-designed habitat, such as this new house, allows animals to express their natural behaviours while helping visitors develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the species in our care.
We are delighted to celebrate the continued partnership between Fota Wildlife Park and the Office of Public Works which has enabled us to invest in modern animal habitats, environmentally sustainable operations, and a better experience for our visitors.” Ms. Tennant concluded.
The development of the new Siamang gibbon house and habitat was one of a range of capital developments that have been supported by the OPW. Those projects focused on long-term resource sustainability for Fota Wildlife Park and included the installation of a modern wastewater treatment plant, a dung stead and composting facility, and energy efficient heating solutions for the primate houses. The delivery of these projects was briefly paused due to the avian influenza-related closure of the Park for 10 weeks in 2025, and all projects have now been successfully delivered.
Recent OPW co-funding has contributed to a number of energy-efficiency initiatives, including the thermal upgrading and retrofitting of both the Giraffe House and food preparation facilities, as well as the installation of 1,112 m2 of photovoltaic panels in 2024.
The new Siamang Gibbon House is now open to the public. Fota Wildlife Park is open daily from 9.30 am. See www.fotawildlife.ie for further information.
ENDS
