Edinburgh Zoo, Edinburgh

Edinburgh Zoo, formal Scottish National Zoological Park (deutsch: Edinburger Zoo bzw. Schottischer nationaler zoologischer Park) liegt im Corstorphine Bezirk von Edinburgh, unweit desMurrayfield Stadium.
Eigentümer ist die Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. Der Zoo wird jährlich 600.000 Besuchern aus aller Welt besucht. Dadurch ist die Anlage die zweitmeist besuchte, schottische und einrittspflichtige Touristenattraktion nach Edinburgh Castle  1 .

Edinburgh Zoo's Motto:
"To excite and inspire our visitors with the wonder of living animals, and so to promote the conservation of threatened species and habitats."

In Edinburgh sind auch die einzigen in einem britischen Zoo untergebrachten Eisbären und Koalas zu finden. Außerdem gelang es dem Zoo als erstem weltweit Pinguine zu züchten.

History

Die Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, eine eingetragene gemeinützige Gesellschaft wurde ursprünglich 1909 inspiriert vom Edinburger Rechtsanwalt Thomas Hailing Gillespie gegründet.
Die original Charta der Gesellschaft gibt folgenden Gesellschaft zweck vor:

"To promote, facilitate and encourage the study of zoology and kindred subjects and to foster and develop amongst the people an interest in and knowledge of animal life."

Das Gelände des heutigen Zoos wurde vom Stadtrat von Edinburgh für die Gesellschaft gekauft und der Zoo am 4. Februar 1913 gegründet und am 22 Juli der öffentlichkeit übergeben.

It was incorporated by Royal Charter later that year but was only granted the prefix 'Royal' in 1948, following a visit by King George VI.

In 1986, the Society acquired the Highland Wildlife Park at Kingussie, 30 miles south of Inverness.

The zoo still retains the original charter, which drives its active breeding programme, and biodiversity, conservation and sustainability initiatives. The zoo provides multiple ways for the public to help support its mission, including a membership club, animal adoption, donations, legacies and volunteering.

In 2007, controversy arose over rumoured plans to move the zoo to Glasgow amid quarrels with the local council, but these rumours were stated by zoo officials to be completely unfounded, when a statement was issued that "The animals are staying in the Capital".

Current attractions

As of 2005, Edinburgh Zoo has approximately 1,000 animals on its 82 acres of parkland. Due to Edinburgh's fairly cold climate, the zoo has in recent years chosen to predominantly focus on mammals and birds, although several reptile and amphibian exhibits can still be found indoors in the revamped Discovery Centre.

Mammals

The zoo currently exhibits Britain's only koalas, and Britain's only polar bear, a female named "Mercedes".

The main bulk of mammal on show are capybara, wolverine, European souslik, marbled polecat, Thorold's deer, Siberian musk deer, Lesser Kudu, Japanese serow and one recently arrived male Bawean deer. Other species rarely exhibited include aye aye, red titi, purple-faced Langur, drill, gelada baboon, ratel, African hunting dog, Pallas cat (with 4 kittens recently born), Temminck's golden cat, margay, Asian lion, Malayan tapir (1 male calf born in 2007), Indian Rhinoceros, vicuna, bongo, nyala, Kirk's Dik-dik, and takin (with calf). The zoo houses two of only six Visayan Warty Pigs.

Birds

The zoo is known particularly for its large collection of penguins, including king penguins, gentoo penguins and rockhopper penguins. The port of Leith providing passage for the first three King penguins via the Christian Salvesen whaling expedition of January 1914. Among the penguins presently residing in the Zoo is Nils Olav II, the mascot and Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian Kings Guard.

Other birds include Australian cassowary, Steller's sea eagle, black stork, hammerkop, thick-billed parrot, Victoria Crowned Pigeons.

Rainbow Landings, a walk-through aviary for lories and lorikeets was completed and opened in December 2007.

Other

Other animals that can be found indoors include pythons, corn snakes, mice, rats, guinea pigs, a sulphur-crested Cockatoo, axolotls, a White's tree frog, Madagascar hissing cockroaches and giant African land snails. Some of these are available for public animal handling sessions (known as "close encounters").

Also on-grounds is Mansion House, formerly Corstorphine Hill House, an old estate house with over two hundred years of history within its walls, and is available for private formal bookings.

Future developments

The zoo has an ambitious plan for the next 10-20 years, with an estimated GBP 58 million being required for expansion and development. The masterplan will see the zoo divided into four biomes:

• Grasslands - North Asian, African and South American grasslands and savannah and open plains habitats. Also planned are a recreation of a Nepalese village, African waterhole and a walk-through safari. Rhinos, cheetahs, zebras, giraffes, ostrich, antelope and hornbills will feature.
• Woodlands - Asian, South American, Far East and Australian woodlands and mixed mountainous forest habitats. Planned exhibits will feature elephants, lions, bears, wolves, tigers, birds of prey, kangaroos, wallabies and wombats.
• Oceans and Wetlands - Arctic, Antarctic, North and South America, Pacific aquatic, tropical wetland and South Atlantic coast habitats. Animals planned for this biome include polar bears, penguins, sea lions, sea otters, manatees, flamingos and capybara.
• Tropical rainforest - South American, Asiatic, African rainforest and swamp forest habitats. Animals featured will be tapirs, jaguars, orangutans, gibbons, pygmy hippos, gorillas, bongo and chimpanzees.

The first phase of the masterplan will see a new £5.65 million exhibit for chimpanzees, Budongo (after the Budongo forest in Uganda), as well as Living Links, a primate behaviour research centre. Both are currently under construction and are scheduled for completion in 2008.