Chambers at Large in Tropical World, Letterkenny, Ireland
- Amelia Chambers
- Apr 28
- 5 min read
Serendipity is one of my favourite words and my discovery of Tropical World was certainly serendipitous. Maintenance was being carried out on my electrical supply one Thursday and, not wanting to stay at home without the ability to make a cup of tea or cook a meal, I decided to go away for the day. But where should I go? A quick look on the internet revealed a place I’d never heard of even though it is only an hour away on the bus: Tropical World just outside the town of Letterkenny in County Donegal.
Having retired I have a free travel pass, which in my case is rather like giving candy to a baby. I use it frequently and I caught the express bus to Letterkenny, then took a taxi the 3km or so up a very steep hill to Alcorns Garden Centre. Within the grounds is Tropical World, a mini zoo, where there are a number of beautiful animals, many of which are endangered.
Arriving at around 11.00am, I went to the café where I enjoyed a cup of coffee and a delicious homemade sausage roll. Sustenance taken, I then began by exploration of the mini zoo, beginning with the bug house, which not only contained brightly coloured beetles and hissing cockroaches from Madagascar, but a Royal Python, several lizards, chameleons and iguanas.
I followed the covered pathways protecting visitors from the rain that falls frequently in Ireland and read many of the signs above my head revealing fun facts about the animal kingdom. Some I knew, some I didn’t. (And whilst on the subject of fun animal facts I recently learned dolphins do talk to one another, have different accents AND a derogatory word for humans! I don’t know if we have a derogatory word for dolphins?)
The butterfly house was hot and humid and it was nearly impossible to photograph the butterflies as they were so busy fluttering from plant to plant, but it was interesting to learn that these creatures only live for about 30 days and therefore there is a constant supply of butterflies brought in as pupae from the continent. Yellow bellied terrapins were basking in the heat, by a beautiful pond and I stopped for a few moments to admire the fabulous array of flowers within the hothouse.
Serendipity once again played a big part in my day as the sun was shining and many of the animals were out taking in the good Irish air. The marmosets and tamarins were very animated in their enclosures, jumping from branch to branch, playing, eating, grooming each other and generally enjoying themselves.
However, my real fascination was with the sloths. Although I’ve been to South America twice, including the Amazon Rain Forest, I’ve never seen a sloth and Tropical World has two: Sid and Suzzie. They are two-toed sloths and they were fast asleep, barely aware of the likes of me gawping at them. Sloths are like tigers, they sleep for 15 to 18 hours a day, something I could do given the chance! The keeper told me they had been a recent addition to Tropical World and loved bananas and apples although their diet is varied in order to ensure they are kept in the best of health. Signs by their enclosure explained they lose almost one third of their body weight when they poop and ancient sloths were as big as elephants, which meant a lot of poop!
All of the animals are lovingly cared for and their welfare is the primary concern. Sometimes food is hidden so that the animals have to forage, just like they do in the wild. This staves off boredom and keeps them active. Their enclosures are pristine, far cleaner and tidier than my own, forcing me to make a mental note to do a thorough spring clean next month. (No point in being too hasty!)
I was thrilled to have encountered the two sloths and continued my exploration of the grounds where many endangered birds are kept and I came closer to the roller birds and blue starlings I had seen on safari in Kenya and India. These birds are beautiful as were many others happily perching on branches enjoying the weather.
One of the parrots was happy to say ‘hello’ and a blue eyed cockatoo came up to the bars of his cage to take a closer look at me. The toucans watched from afar as did the Canadian Great Horned owl who was dozing in a darkened corner.
The meerkats were playing and had no interest in me watching them but the lemurs were basking in the sun and turned an eye in my direction, as did the Golden Lion Faced Tamarin who looked as shocked at my appearance as I did of his.
To my surprise the time just flew and I had to return to the town in order to catch a bus home. I will definitely go back to this newfound gem - Tropical World - in the very near future.
I’d like to thank the keeper for taking the time to talk to me, tell me about Sid and Suzzie and the other animals in this wonderful location. Keep up the great work. My day out was a real treat, a treasured surprise and as I’ve already said: serendipitous.
Thanks for reading and safe travels.
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My trip to the Amazon Rain Forest was an experience and a half. If you ever get the chance…go! I took Paddington with me. To find out more, please click on the link.
My safari to Kenya was another wonderful experience and I’m looking forward to doing another African safari in the next couple of years. Click on the links to share my love of wild animals.
Seeing tigers in the wild was high on my Bucket List and I was delighted to encounter over ten of them whilst in the national parks of India. Click on the link to see what I saw.
I support zoos for all the conservation work they do. Fota Park in Cork and Belfast Zoo do a great deal. I visited both a few years ago and really must go back. Meanwhile please click on the link to see the marvels of both.
County Donegal is full of surprises. It is one of my favourite areas of Ireland and I encountered bears and wolves in Wild Ireland, another place I must revisit, and there is always the chance to learn a bit of Irish, where the language is still spoken, in several towns and villages. Please click on the links to learn more.
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