Wild KILLARNEY at it best

Killarney National Park is a designated biosphere nature reserve and home to many rare species of animals, birds and fish.

Red deer

Red Deer

Killarney’s herd of red deer are as famous as the National Park that they graze in.

The red deer is Ireland’s largest land mammal and the stags can achieve a weight of 220kg. The female, or hind, can reach up to 110kg in weight.

While red deer can be found in several parts of Ireland, the Killarney herd is indigenous to the area.

They have a deep reddish brown coat that turns brown-grey in colour in winter as it thickens for protection against the weather. Red deer are primarily grazing animals but also included in their diet is heather, small shrubs and rough grasses.

The stags shed and regrow their antlers every year, ensuring they are in tip top condition for the rut.

White Tailed Eagle

National Parks and Wildlife Service began a second phase White Tailed Eagle reintroduction project to bolster the existing eagle population in Ireland. The original reintroduction programme (2007-2011) involved releasing one hundred young White Tailed Eagles in Killarney National Park.

Before this eagles hadn’t been seen in Ireland since the early 20th century, but now there are White Tailed Sea Eagles in the sky once more.

One of Ireland’s largest resident birds, the eagle has a wingspan of up to 2.4 metres and a body length of approximately one metre. The female is the larger of the two and can weigh around 6kg whereas her male counterpart weighs around 4kg.

Many sightings of the eagle within the National Park have been over Lough Leane.

Killarney Shad

There are 14 different species of fish in the waters of Killarney National Park, one of which is particularly rare and found nowhere else in the world.

Killarney shad – known locally as “the goureen” - is not only unique to Ireland, it is unique to Kerry and specifically to Lough Leane within the Killarney National Park. This is a particularly interesting fish as it is believed to have arrived in the lake at the time of the last glacial period around 10,000 years ago, and as the ice sheets melted it had to adapt to become a landlocked species.

Wildflowers

Species found in Killarney National Park include: bluebell, common honeysuckle, bitter vetch, lesser celandine, ragwort, slender rush, thistle, mouse-ear chickweed, knapweed, hawkweed, wood sorrel, enchanter’s nightshade, bog asphodel, common butter- wort and round-leaved sundew. The Kerry Lily is a rare and protected species found in the National Park.

Trees

The National Park is home to many different tree families but one could be unique to Killarney.

The Arbutus tree may be native to Spain and France but, for some reason, it is abundant in the Killarney area too.

Often referred to as the Killarney Arbutus (many local businesses carry the Arbutus tagline), it is also known as the Killarney Strawberry Tree.

The Killarney Arbutus is different from its Mediterranean cousins. In the warmer climates it grows to no bigger than a shrub, but it thrives in the damper Killarney climate and trees can grow to 12 metres.

Timber craftsmen created amazing decorative furniture from the Arbutus wood and local enthusiasts keep the tradition alive by restoring old tables and chairs.

Information courtesy of the Irish National Parks and Wildlife Service.

www.nationalparks.ie/killarney