| Go Wild in Ireland By Malcolm
Rogers
Malcolm Rogers goes on safari to the Ould Sod.
In any holiday in Ireland you could hope see the world’s fastest animal,
the largest living thing, and the world’s only wild animal which has founded
a multi-million pound industry.
These are, respectively, the blue whale, the largest animal gracing planet
Earth, which is so large that you could swim along its arteries; the peregrine
falcon, which dive-bombs its prey by swooping on it at speeds up to 180
mph; and Fungi the dolphin, whose presence in Dingle Bay since the 1980s
has grossed the town millions of pounds — estimates vary between £10million
to a staggering £50million.
Of course the presence of these three superstars of the animal world
doesn’t mean that coming to Ireland is going to be on a par with heading
out on safari in the Serengeti. Quite simply Ireland has nothing like the
species count of continental countries in Europe, never mind Africa.
For reasons that aren’t fully understood, every time a sea divides a
land mass from its continent there is a dramatic decrease in the variety
of wildlife. Ireland, for instance, has about 300 species of native birds,
Britain has about 500, while in the continent of Europe you could expect
to meet up with some 1,000 different species. Nonetheless, Ireland is a
truly rewarding place for those with time and just a little insider knowledge.
Life with a Porpoise
Whales, dolphins and porpoises can be seen off all the coasts of Ireland,
although the south west and west are usually the most promising. Ireland
has some of the best whale watching in Europe, if not the world.
Whales annually migrate between frozen poles and tropics. Those seen
off Ireland’s coasts are generally heading north to feed in the rich arctic
waters, or heading south in the autumn to winter in the tropical breeding
grounds.
Nutrients are stirred up from the seabed by currents created along the
continental shelf of Europe, after which the sea plunges to very great depths.
The larger whales — including our friend the blue whale with his heart
the size of a family saloon car — use this shelf to feed and rest up on
their long migrations. And luckily enough Ireland is Europe’s closest land
to this ‘whale super highway’.
Irish waters are home to at least 23 species of cetaceans (the zoological
name for the whale and dolphin family) and this represents more than a third
of the world’s species. Aside from the blue whale, you could expect to see
the fin whale, the humpback and the minke whale. Dolphins include the common,
bottlenose, Atlantic white-sided and striped.
The most famous aquatic mammal in Ireland is Dingle Bay’s Fungi, a (probably)
middle-aged specimen who was first seen in 1984 escorting Dingle’s fishing
boats to and from the harbour. A self-appointed busybody, like those people
you occasionally see directing the traffic purely for diversion.
Soon after the dolphin was recorded as a “permanent” resident of the
entrance channel — Ireland’s first recorded occurrence of a wild dolphin
that seems to prefer human company. No one really knows why he should have
decided to adopt a solitary way of life, although it’s not unique in the
annals of dolphin history.
During the summer months, Fungi can be seen fishing at the harbour mouth,
as well as directing the fishing boats. Boat trips are available to the
harbour mouth, departing from The Pier, Dingle Town.
To see wilder members of the Cetacean family, basically all you need
to do is equip yourself with a pair of binoculars, sit down on one of Ireland’s
headlands, and wait and watch.
Talking Big Bucks
The whale maybe the biggest mammal lurking round Ireland’s shores, but
if you wanted to see Ireland’s largest land mammal, the red deer, you have
to head for the south west — the best place to see Ireland’s only native
deer is the Killarney National Park.
Killarney’s red deer herd is particularly ancient, and unlike most herds
elsewhere in Ireland, is probably pure Irish, having no introduced specimens.
Of course, that’s not the only reason for visiting this neck of the woods.
Because it just so happens that the woods of which this is the neck is a
unique ancient oak forest, with an under storey of yew. Once upon a time
large swathes of Ireland were covered by this type of landscape.
However, a combination of climate change and woodland clearance for agriculture
over the past 5,000 years meant that the great woodlands went into gradual
decline. The Killarney oakwood forest is one of the best places to visit
if you want to see Ireland how she used to be. The woods abound with wildlife,
both animals and flowers — look out for red squirrels, badgers and, as evening
draws its veil over Kerry, several species of bat.
Ireland’s other two native mammals which you might commonly see throughout
the country — on farmland, woodland and moorland — are the stoat and the
Irish hare, which have both been on Irish soil long before Man.
A rather more rare animal is the pine marten, which looks somewhat like
a stoat, and inhabits mountain areas from the Mournes to Macgillycuddy Reeks.
Life on the Wing
The previously mentioned peregrine falcon can be seen everywhere in Ireland,
particularly in mountainous or cliff areas. The word peregrine, by the way,
means ‘pilgrim’, presumably an allusion to the fact that these birds can,
and do, travel great distances.
Peregrine falcons are the ultimate birds of prey, masters of the breathtakingly
spectacular plunge to catch its dinner. The bird ascends to a height of
as much as a mile, folds itself into a tear-shaped bomb to reduce wind resistance,
and drops from the heavens like a bullet onto its hapless victim.
The prey is almost always a small bird (up to the size of a pigeon),
and it’s safe to assume that the last thing that goes through the victim’s
mind as it’s hit by a falcon going at over 100 mph is its tail feathers.
This spectacular killing dive — called by ornithologists a ‘stoop’ —
might seem a bit extravagant when you consider the average moggy can kill
a sparrow by pouncing languorously out on it from behind a bush after a
lazy afternoon in front of the central heating. But there you are — that’s
the baroque extravaganza that on this planet we call life.
The peregrine falcon stands at the top of avian life in Ireland. But
there are ornithological treasures everywhere. You can listen to the larks
sing Matins on the moorlands of every province, still hear the sound of
old Ireland in a few counties where the corncrake still lives, or watch
swans perform their elaborate courting ritual.
With necks craned and entwined, dancing and embracing, these magnificent
creatures bring grace to their moment of passion as only swans can do. As
this is a family newspaper, a discreet veil will be drawn across the full
proceedings — but it’s safe to say a pair of swans look well satisfied after
an event like this. Were they humans, they’d probably have a cigarette.
Everywhere in Ireland the song of the robin will assail you. The robin,
or spideog, will apparently try to be ‘friendly’ to all and sundry as it
hops from hedge to headstone. But in actual fact it is far from being friendly
— rather, it is keeping an alert eye for intruders, of which there aren’t
too many, for the robin is a triumph of PR over reality.
Far from sitting on snow-topped Christmas trees benignly contemplating
the holly and the ivy, he’s more likely to be locked in mortal combat with
any bird that makes the mistake of straying on to his territory, because
the robin is ultra-territorial and ultra-aggressive.
Because Ireland has such a long, indented coastline (one of the longest
in Europe), the easiest birds to see are waders, seabirds and coastal species.
The likes of Strangford Lough in the North and the Wexford Slobs at the
other end of the country are amongst the world’s premier wildfowl reserves
— and you won’t even need your binoculars to see the birds. Much of the
entire world population of Brent and Greenland white-fronted geese stop
off at these service stations to dine during various times of the year,
and as they flock in groups of up to 500 its pretty hard to miss them. In
addition, there are huge numbers of waders and swans. These are a truly
magnificent wildlife spots, where you can watch some of the world’s great
travellers as they journey from the New World to the Old. Remember — the
birds knew the world was round before we did.
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