The principal works executed in 1830 were the laying out of the North Garden and the erection there of houses and sheds for deer, antelopes, zebras, ostriches, kangaroos, and swine. In the South Garden a pit with a pond was provided for the polar bear, and a den and pond were made for seals.
His Majesty King William IV. signified his pleasure to become the Patron of the Society, and presented to it all the animals belonging to the royal menagerie in Windsor Park. This collection included fourteen wapiti, seven zebus, two mountain zebras, two Burchell’s zebras, and thirteen kangaroos, besides other animals and a valuable collection of birds.
In 1831 the King presented to the Society the collection of animals in the Tower. The armadillos bred in the Gardens. An elephant paddock and pond were erected.
In 1833 a parrot house was erected.
In 1834 an additional space of ten acres of ground along the south-western verge of the South Garden was acquired. Examples of twelve species of mammals and twenty-six species of birds were exhibited for the first time. Of the former the most important was an Indian rhinoceros, for which the sum of £1,050 was paid.
In 1835 a house was built for elephants and rhinoceros in the North Garden, near the spot where the present elephant house now stands. His Majesty the King presented to the Society a fine young Indian elephant.
On May 24, 1836, four giraffes (three males and a female) arrived at the Gardens in charge of M. Thibaut, who had obtained them for the Society in Kordofan. They were the origin of the famous herd which died out in 1881. Of the seventeen giraffes of this herd subsequently born in the Gardens, one was presented to the Dublin Society in 1844, five were sold at prices ranging from £150 to £450, and eleven died in the Gardens.
In 1836 a giraffe house was erected.
In 1837 Her Majesty Queen Victoria signified her pleasure to become Patroness of the Society. An orang-outang was purchased for £100, and a cage was put up for it.
On June 19, 1839, a young male giraffe was born, the first recorded instance of this species breeding in captivity, but it died nine days after.