ZOO OPENING TIMES
We are open every day of the year, including Christmas Day, from 9am until:
| 6.00pm | April - September |
| 5.00pm | October & March |
| 4.30pm | November - February |
2009 Events
Find out what's happening
at the Zoo in 2009.
Events include owl flights,
wildlife lectures, quiz nights and
a wine tasting.
Local Conservation
Almost one hundred years ago, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland declared, through its charter, to further the investigation and conservation of wildlife in Scotland. Such a strategy is just as relevant today as it was in 1909. Many of Scotland’s species and habitats are globally important, and protection of these national assets will rely on partnerships of many organisations and individuals to ensure an integrated approach to conservation.
Biodiversity Action Plans
Edinburgh Zoo is delighted to be working actively with many other conservation agencies in Scotland to help achieve the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP), through the local Edinburgh Biodiversity Action Plan (EBAP). The first EBAP was published in 1999 and is due to be re-launched in 2005. The action plan has identified priority species to include adders and water shrews. It is likely that adders have become locally extinct throughout the Pentland Hills as there have been no sightings for a number of years, but more detailed surveying is required before any conservation action can be taken, such as translocation of animals from other areas.
Scottish conservation
We are actively involved in the Scottish Environment LINK, which is an umbrella group of conservation agencies. Through its Biodiversity Task Group, we have advised the Scottish Executive on the development of its Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 which strengthens the government’s obligations to local conservation through management of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSI’s) and also increases its powers against wildlife crime.
Also through LINK, we supported the development of the Scottish Biodiversity Forum’s strategy for Scotland, which was launched in May 2004.
Corstorphine Hill
A large part of the zoo boundary is adjacent to the Corstorphine Hill Local Nature Reserve (LNR) that was designated in 1993. Many native species of animals and birds can be found on both sides of our perimeter fence, including badgers, foxes, and stoats. As part of our Masterplan, we hope to become responsible for the conservation management of this area. We are also very sensitive to the potential impact of the redevelopment of the Zoo on our local neighbours, and we will be careful to ensure that all our plans have beneficial impact on both people and biodiversity.
Canna Woodmice
In 2005, we began a joint project with the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) focusing on the Inner Hebridean islands of Canna and Sanday. The islands, which were gifted to the Trust, are particularly important as breeding sites for several species of seabird. There has been a significant decline in both breeding birds and the number of chicks reared in recent years, due to predation by rats that have been introduced to the island.
The rodent eradication programme that the Trust is carrying out could threaten the only native rodent on Canna - the wood mouse – so we are removing a self-sustaining population of these mice and looking after them here at Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park, until it is safe to reintroduce them to the island. The project will take around two years to complete with all mice taken from Canna, along with any bred in the Zoo, going back to their natural habitat on Canna.
Scottish Environment LINK www.scotlink.org
Edinburgh BAP www.edinburgh.gov.uk
National Trust for Scotland http://www.nts-seabirds.org.uk/news/news_seabird_rec.aspx