I visited the zoo about 2 weeks ago and thought it was a world class zoo! All except one exhibit was brilliant, the pygmy hippos. Dont get me wrong the out side are and pool for the hippos is big and great but the indoor area was lacking in space and there was very little water in the pool. The indoor bit looked ran down and old. Could do with a revamp.
The indoor pool is usually full pretty much to the top so maybe they were cleaning it or something-its deep enough to fully submerge. It is pretty small indoors though. There are of course off-show indoor areas too, not large but will increase the space. I'm sure it will be revamped at some point, but there may be other areas prioritised first-I think many people would like to see big cat row updated for example.
When we were there a couple of weeks ago the pool water was lower than normal, and clean!! First time I think I have ever seen the pool with clear water in it (They usually dirty it pretty quickly). Leads me to think they had just emptied and refilled for maintenance or cleaning. (Outside pool was also empty, possibly for same reason) In general, the hippos usually go inside to sleep or on bad weather days (especially if their heaters are turned on!). Edinburgh's continual breeding success with pygmy hippos suggests that the animals are happy and contented. Perhaps our own cosmetic requirements don't match those of the animals!
I think that is probably true of virtually all Zoo exhibits, at least in the UK nowadays. There are few places that would risk having animals that are obviously stressed or in poor condition or living in very cramped or otherwise unsuitable conditions, on view. Of course it is still quite a different matter in some other countries' Zoos.
I have to say that given Edinburgh's climate (and for non Brits reading this I'd point out there are good reasons why King and Gentoo Penguins do well there!) an outside pool is a nice seasonal treat. It's the indoor pool that really counts.
