Dublin Zoo has bounced back from the Foot-and-Mouth scare and is reporting a record breaking weekend with glorious sunshine bringing thousands of visitors to the re-opened attraction.
Gardai have been reporting severe traffic congestion around the zoo, which reopened its gates last Thursday.
Preliminary figures show that 25,000 people passed through the gates over the holiday weekend.
Figures were apparently boosted by the fine weather and the newly opened African Plains, which effectively doubles the size of the Phoenix Park attraction.
Among the visitors today was Taoiseach Bertie Ahern who officially opened the African Plains.