Bertie displays political animal instincts on big day out at zoo

The mystery of where Bertie Ahern acquired his political survival instincts was finally solved yesterday when, opening a major extension of Dublin Zoo, he said: "I've spent practically all my life here."

The Taoiseach was explaining his personal commitment to the zoo, a venue which has many lessons to offer aspiring politicians. If you can combine the skin of a rhino, the neck of a giraffe and the ground-speed of a cheetah in distancing yourself from trouble, you have most of what it takes to survive in politics. When, like the Taoiseach, you have bigger popularity ratings than the monkey enclosure, your evolution is complete.

A renowned nature-lover (already known for having been up every tree in north Dublin) Mr Ahern said yesterday the zoo and the botanic gardens were his two favourite places. And so at home was he that he climbed a fence for the benefit of the cameras and took a walk in the long grass of the African Plains project, the 30-acre extension which has effectively doubled the zoo's size.

One of the features of the development is the mixing of different animal groups; and posing in front of a rainbow coalition of giraffes, zebras, scimitar-horned oryx and an ostrich, the Taoiseach looked anything but a threatened species. The new development does not include snakes in the grass, luckily, so he made it back intact.

Laid out around a natural lake in land provided by Aras an Uachtarain, the African Plains project is a work in progress, but is now open to the public pending a formal unveiling next Easter.

Incorporating African-style buildings which house a restaurant, shop and other facilities, it represents the most dramatic phase of the £15 million investment programme begun in 1994. The zoo's president, Sean Cromien, said it made the venue "one of Europe's finest" and praised the long-term support of the Taoiseach, who announced a further £2 million annual investment for the next five years.

As well as providing more space for the animals remaining in the old zoo area, the extension features bigger enclosures for all the species relocating.

The zoo's hippos, Henry and Linda, were relaxing at their new lakeside property (featuring indoor and outdoor pools) when the Taoiseach's entourage arrived. Alarmed by the noise, however, they fled from the pool into a corner and turned their backs on the cameras for the duration of the visit. Proving that, thick-skinned as they may be, hippos will never be political animals.