Series overview
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday Ella McSweeney goes behind the scenes with zookeepers to look at some of the most interesting and unexpected aspects of their work and find out more about the animals they care for.
Wildlife conservation, climate change and the major threats facing animal species in the wild will be key threads running across all three evenings.
We’ll take a look at the history and cultural importance of Dublin Zoo and show archive footage of the very early days of Zoo life. Each episode features a celebrity who becomes a zookeeper for a day. Doireann Garrihy, Kevin McGahern and Jedward all take on the real work of a zookeeper from food prep, to feeding time, to cleaning out habitats.
Education and science workshops are located in the Congo Camp. Over the three days, children will get to have some fun, ask questions, meet stick insects and see a reptile up close.
Conservation is at the heart of the Zoo’s work. We’ll have satellite link-ups with projects around the world that Dublin Zoo is working with from rhinos in Zimbabwe to orangutans in Borneo.
Other topics, such as sustainability and evolution are introduced through watching the work of the zookeepers and learning why they do what they do, in a fun, dynamic, entertaining, but also hugely informative style.
Our competition to name the red panda will give one lucky viewer a chance to win an annual pass to Dublin Zoo and experience the wonder and magic of seeing wild animals in the wonderful parkland location.
From cheeky Sulawesi crested macaques, exuberant sea lions and majestic elephants to the beautiful red panda who arrived at the Zoo in May, all of these and more will feature over the three days.
This series can be watched and enjoyed by the entire family together in its peak time slot on RTÉ One at 7 pm each evening.
‘Zoo Live’ is produced by Moondance Productions who have over a decade of experience working with the animals and staff of Dublin Zoo on the hugely popular series ‘The Zoo’ on RTÉ One.
Episode 1 – Tuesday 7th June
Tonight in the first of three live shows coming from Dublin Zoo, we meet the zoo’s newest arrival, a red panda, visit a rhino conservation project in Zimbabwe and go behind the scenes for some sea lion training. Doireann Garrihy our Celebrity Zookeeper for a Day, mucks in with the keepers to look after elephants and we launch an exciting competition.
Episode 2 – Wednesday 8th June
Tonight on ‘Zoo Live’ celebrity zookeeper, Kevin McGahern, gets to hang out with orangutans. Night cameras give us a look at what animals get up to after dark. Sinead finds out how much food it takes to feed an entire zoo and Ella finds out whether wolves are really the bad guys or just misunderstood.
Episode 3 – Thursday 9th June
In the final episode of ‘Zoo Live’, we put Jedward to work as zookeepers for the day, meet dholes an animal Dublin Zoo has introduced to Ireland for the first time, and learn about the okapis – one of the most unusual animals in the Zoo and announce the new name of the beautiful red panda, chosen from entries to our competition.