What I Thought of Ednburgh Zoo » Edinburgh Zoo

What I Thought of Edinburgh Zoo
08-11-2008

After mentioning in my introduction post that i had visited edinburgh zoo this year i was asked what i thought of it, i hope you're comfortable as it's quite long!

Things i liked:
Budongo Trail - In my opinion, by far the best exhibit in the zoo. I particularly liked the climbing frames which offered great opurtunities for the chimps to show of their acrobatics and the structures themselves look almost natural. I also like the idea of interconnecting tunnels simulating rainforest corridors and the graphics - £7million well spent!
Rainbow Landings - Although i know that this is not a new concept i still enjoyed this exhibit as there were a large number of lories and the interior was attractive.
Animal Antics - Having been to many such shows i was not sure whether i could be bothered with this one but i'm glad i did go because it was excellent - the armadillo was my particular favourite.
Living Links - A really informative and well designed exhibit where you can watch researchers studying the behaviour of squirrel monkeys and Capuchins - a very innovative idea.
Penguins - No trip to Edinburgh Zoo would be complete without watching the legendary penguin parade and we got some excellent pictures, the exhibit is also well done.
Rare Species - The zoo showcased a number of species that are rarely seen in zoos, for example: Polar Bear, Koala, Wolverine, Japanese Serow, Goral, African Wild Dog and Temminck's Golden Cat to name but a few.

Things i didn't like:
Mercedes' Enclosure - Her habitat wasn't as bad as i thought it would be but still pretty dire. She needs a bigger pool with CLEAN water and a far larger area - HWP would be ideal.
Carnivores - The row of carnivore cages to the left of the tigers are too small for some of the zoo's most unique animals although it did give me my best ever view of a black jaguar.
Rhinos - The enclosure simply isn't large enough and they were exhibiting a lot of stereo-typical behaviour.
The Hill! - Makes for a tiring day out, the safari bus is most welcome!
Idiots - The worst one was a woman looking at the outdoor enclosure of Budongo Trail whilst two chimps were resting in a cargo net and saying "This is such a rubbish zoo, the animals all look so bored!"

Overall:
I absolutely love this zoo, it has got to be one of my favourites, what struck me most was the attention to detail, a chimp bench outside budongo and flags made to look like feathers leading up to Rainbow Landings. With some of the pictures in 'Wonders Never Cease' of the new masterplan this zoo could be one to watch.

08-11-2008

I think I can agree with all that
Never saw the rhinos displaying stereotype behavior though, what were they doing?

08-11-2008

One was head-shaking for about five minutes

08-11-2008

That was quick!
Never seen a rhino doing that... Odd.
Was Mercedes pacing a lot? I went in 2006 and this year, and she seemed to not pace at all this year.

08-11-2008

No, Mercedes was not pacing, she was asleep on top of a log.

I hadn't thought about it much until you mentioned it and then i realised i'd never seen a rhino head-shake either. Looking back on the occasion, the rhino's head was scraping the bars in front of the house while it was shaking - i think that what i thought was repetetive head-shaking was just the rhino wanting to go inside?

08-11-2008

Or just scratching an itch?

Good review Redpanda

08-11-2008

thanks for the review

08-11-2008

Indian rhino in zoos often weave their head back and forth against the bars at the point where they go in, just while waiting to be let indoors- I saw the bull at Whipsnade do exactly this last year. But of course its still a (albeit mild) form of stereotyped behaviour induced by captive conditions. G.I. rhino will frequently rub their horn back and forth against metal bars also, may be a parasitic problem or sterotyped behaviour from insufficient stimulation- a very worn horn indicates a high level of this activity.

08-11-2008

An excellent review redpanda, Budongo is definately the best exhibit at the zoo, but i still believe the entrance area on the ground floor could be better used.
I think the best way to see the zoo is take the road train at the start of your visit to the top of the hill and make your way down at your leisure.
I think the rhino enclosure, although not the biggest we have seen serves its function well at the moment for 2.0 Indian rhino. I think next up for RZSS is a new rhino house and enclosure at the top of the hill, as part of the grasslands biome.
But this could be put off for a few years, with the uncertainty of the proposed land sale and the possible construction of a new giant panda exhibit.

Glad you enjoyed your visit, and i can promise you a lot more surprises in the future.

08-11-2008

Nice review redpanda! Even though I live in Canada I've been keeping a watchful eye on both the Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park, as those two collections are seemingly becoming more popular and relevant in the zoo world as the years go by.

08-11-2008

The top of the hill is a bad location for Indian rhino- they are great heavy creatures that live naturally in flat swampy grasslands, and are not well equipped for walking on hills or gradients, plus they need a decent-sizd bathing pool. Its unfortunate Edinburgh has no flatter/ low lying land they could give over to this species, but I know the zoo layout and they just don't really

09-11-2008

Kiang - Personally, i liked the Budongo lobby as it showcased conservation efforts in Budongo Forest - it is not what i would have expected and builds up anticipation before you see the chimps close up.

Personally when i compare the rhino exhibit at Edinburgh to those at other collections (Chester, Cotswold, Paignton and Whipsnade for example) it seems rather pitiful although i agree that it could be far worse.

Pertinax - The map of the masterplan does show rhino in the grasslands biome at the top of the zoo but perhaps to combat the slope they will have a similar arrangement to what they heve now, two flat enclosures adjoined by a path which takes the majority of the slope.

09-11-2008

I can see they have little choice as all their undeveloped area is the hilltop section of the zoo. Mind you, the slope on the Western(?) side where there are/were camels is okay- not too steep. Incidentally is the existing outside rhino area the same size as when they had the White rhinos ? (I've not been since then)

09-11-2008

I'm not entirely sure although i think so, as in Wonders Never Cease it says that when the white rhinos were to move a rarer species would take its place and no alterations were mentioned although this is not verified.

I have been looking at the current map of the zoo and comparing it to the one showcasing the masterplan and it appears that the rhinos will be housed on the left hand side of the current rhea and vicuna enclosure which is relatively flat and very large - perfect.

09-11-2008

I have been looking at my most recent photos from Edinburgh, taken in August, because I haven't posted them here yet and I hope to do so soon.
I agree with most of the comments in this thread. The rhino paddock is not bad, but I'm sure they will not keep both bulls there when they are fully grown. One of them does show some wear on his horn as Pertinax has described.
I think all the modern enclosures at Edinburgh are pretty good (although I have some reservations about 'Rainbow Landings'): some of the older ones are not so clever of course. I'd love to see all the monkeys housed in enclosures like the ones in Living Links. The weakness of the zoo in recent years is that they have run down their collections of smaller birds and herptiles, it would be a shame if they did not replace some of the very old accommodation for these species that was demolished when 'Budongo' was built.

Alan

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