Dr Christoph Schwitzer, leading primatologist and director of Dublin Zoo, is living proof of the ability of zoos to inspire the next generation of conservationists. His love of zoology was prompted by childhood visits to Cologne Zoo in Germany. The primate collection in particular was then a zoologist’s paradise with proboscis monkeys, douc langurs and bizarre South American uakaris. Cologne’s legendary director, Gunther Nogge, was keen to foster this early passion, and helped Schwitzer set up the Zoo’s Youth Group in 1987.

Schwitzer went on to read biology at the University of Cologne under Nogge’s advice and supervision (“don’t worry about economics,” Nogge told him. “You can always teach yourself - it’s not that complicated!”) and later studied lemurs in Madagascar. He then worked at Bristol Zoo before taking up his current position at Dublin in 2020.

What are the differences between German zoos and their British and Irish counterparts?” German curators and directors often come from scientific backgrounds” says Schwitzer - perhaps explaining why German zoos are some of the world’s finest. However, this academic approach can also lead to bureaucratic management structures. British zoo professionals, meanwhile, can often be more pragmatic and Schwitzer particularly praises their ability to take bigger risks and import new species on shoestring budgets.

Zoological Favourites

A true zoo nerd, Schwitzer has visited around 350 collections internationally. Some of his favourites include many of the world’s most famous zoos, such as Singapore Night Safari, Chester Zoo and Zoo Zurich. But he is also a fan of innovative smaller zoos like the Bioparc Doué de la Fontaine in France, praising “the innovation built into those habitats in a [disused] quarry…you can see the people who built them have really thought about it.”

“You can see the people who built them have really thought about it.”

Schwitzer believes that good zoo exhibits should blend into their landscapes. Most historic zoos, such as Berlin, are characterised by beautiful historic buildings and benefit from similarly grandiose modern additions. Dublin, however, although the world’s fourth oldest zoo (founded in 1831) has few architectural statements - something that Schwitzer says gives the zoo greater flexibility. “Animal welfare science moves on quickly,” he says, quoting Swiss zoologist Heini Hediger who believed zoos “shouldn’t build anything that lasts longer than 20 years because [exhibits] can quickly become obsolete.”

Schwitzer laughs that Ireland is a “cold tropical country” and credits the humid climate for the zoo’s uniquely verdant setting in the grounds of Phoenix Park. A long-standing partnership between the zoo’s horticulturalists and landscape architects Jones and Jones has exploited this to create a series of outstanding, naturalistic exhibits - even for large, destructive species like elephants and gorillas.

Planning for the Future

Dublin is a “mega-mammal zoo”, with few smaller species - something Schwitzer is keen to change. He is a firm believer that zoos have a duty to “show the variety of life” in an era when visitors have minimal contact with the natural world. A new aquarium building is on the cards: “Dublin Zoo opened the second public aquarium in the world,” a now-closed exhibit where oxygen was pumped into tanks by visitors on bicycles - a concept Schwitzer hopes to recreate.

“We are doing some good for 10 [lemur] species in European zoos…[but] what about the other 102?”

An Australian-themed exhibit is also being planned. When he moved to Dublin, Schwitzer recalls jokingly apologising to the Australian Ambassador for not having any Australian species at the zoo - something that is set to change soon. A final species list remains undecided, but Schwitzer is already thinking beyond the run-of-the-mill wallaby walkthroughs that most zoos settle for. “I would really like koalas and [Tasmanian] devils,” he muses, recounting fond memories of seeing the latter as a child in Cologne. He draws the line at platypuses though: “lovely animals [but] their nutrition is a little too difficult… I’d rather leave that to larger organisations.”

Unsurprisingly, as a self confessed “lemur nerd”, Schwitzer hopes to expand Dublin’s lemur collection. He has already brought in a pair of nocturnal aye-ayes and dreams of adding some rare blue-eyed black lemurs. More ambitiously, he would love to set up breeding programmes for some of the sportive lemurs - a genus not currently found in any zoo. Ideally, zoos would first import commoner species as husbandry models for the Sahamalaza sportive lemur, which numbers just 60 individuals in the wild.

In 2013, Schwitzer co-authored a major conservation plan that recommended starting new captive populations for these and other lemur species (including the iconic, panda-like indri) but is disappointed by the lack of progress. He yearns for “a bit more collective risk-taking and a bit more welly” from the over-cautious zoo community, who criticised his plan by saying “we can’t do that, we’ll just stick to the species we have in zoos already.” Schwitzer, a passionate believer in the role of zoos in rescuing endangered species, disagrees: “We are doing some good for 10 [lemur] species in European zoos…[but] what about the other 102?”

The Need for Zoos

Schwitzer believes that zoos need to be better at promoting the good work they do. This focus on PR should also extend to government engagement: the success of zoos in both Germany and Ireland has been facilitated by generous government support in the form of both taxpayer subsidies and extra land. Successive British governments, however, come in for criticism: “Much more could be done in London [Zoo], for example,” says Schwitzer. “It’s such a great location but only gets a million visitors a year - it should get three million or so, like Berlin. But to achieve that, it needs [government] support.”

Even amongst zoo staff, the belief that zoos are a ‘necessary evil’ is alarmingly prevalent. Schwitzer rejects this line and insists that his ideal world would in fact have “many more zoos”. While also acknowledging the role of zoos in conservation, education and research, Schwitzer believes that “ultimately, people want to be close to animals.” Citing evidence that zoo visits promote mental wellbeing, he sees these institutions as fundamentally cultural establishments that fulfil a basic human need. After all, he concludes, “where would we be without animals?”