Not sure about zoos (Edinburgh Zoo)

Name: sersha

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Product:	Edinburgh Zoo
Date:	20/06/02 (1198 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: kids love it, educational, fun day out

Disadvantages: sad to see some of the animals so distressed, not sure about the ethics of the whole thing

I don't like the idea of zoos one little bit. But I have to say I was tempted at the thought of being one of the first to see my two-year-old nephew's reaction to seeing a tiger in the flesh for the first time. Ok, so his favourite things in the zoo were the big ladder, the safari bus, the chute, and a bridge. When we did get to the gift shop I asked him what his favourite animals were, and he said 'the monkeys.' I tried to tempt him with various cuddly and plastic monkeys, but he was adamant he wanted a tractor. So that's what we left with. (I'm hoping the next one is a girl so I can get her something fluffy.) Anyway, back to the point:

Edinburgh zoo is built on a hill. This is the first point, and not something to be taken lightly. Although you can hire buggies at reception for small children, walking round the entire zoo is a major undertaking. The higher up you go, the more spread out the animals get (possibly because these are newer, bigger enclosures.) There is a safari bus which leaves every half hour from the bottom which is a good idea, but it only takes 25 passengers, so even if you queue you may not get to go. (Cue screaming two-year-old child who prefers the bus to fluffy animals.)

Admission is reasonable: 7 pounds for adults and 4 for children (3 and over.) Parking is £2. There are also a range of family tickets available. Finding the zoo is not that easy, its on the west side of Edinburgh in Corstorphine and the turn off is reasonably easy to miss, so you might find yourself going past it without realising. The zoo is next to a large Holiday Inn hotel which is probably easier to see. There are plenty of buses that go this way so public transport is a good option.

There were temporary restrictions to parts of the zoo in place for a while due to the Foot and Mouth outbreak but happily these are all now gone. Everything is open for business. The only downsides to going in winter are that less of the ca
fes are open (but these are pretty dire anyway) and the opening hours in winter are a bit shorter.

CONDITIONS:

THE GOOD:

The zoo has pretty good enclosures for most of the animals, and they do seem to be pretty diligent at keeping the animals happy and entertained. There are several enclosures they have deemed too small that they are rebuilding, (a new enclosure for the oriental small clawed otters is underway and it looks fantastic) and the newest enclosures at the top of the hill are much better than some of the original smaller ones. The animals are given things to make their environments more interesting and to stop them getting bored (the chimp who was running around with a bucket on his head was certainly not bored.) The chimps have a fantastic playground with a variety of ropes, tyres and climbing frames, and are great fun to watch.

Most of the enclosures have both outside and inside space. If you look carefully you will see exits from the enclosures which lead to other ones. So it's a little deceptive. The lemurs have a special overhead run between enclosures so sometimes they jump over each other running along above your head (watch out for flying poo!)
The zoo has no elephants because elephants naturally live in packs, and it would be very cruel to keep one or two (Bristol zoo take note)! Also good to see was the zebra enclosure. Again, I think they live in huge herds naturally, but the two zebras and baby I saw had a very large enclosure with plenty of space to run at top speed.



THE BAD:

Birds. I won't go on and on about it but I just think it's ridiculous to put any sort of bird in a cage, no matter how big. Especially large birds with huge wingspans, who can just about take off before they hit the other side of the cage. How frustrating must that be? The zoo obviously keeps some animals because of conservation purposes, like the Siberian Tiger and the White Rhino. I s
till don't like it. The Rhino enclosure is far too small, and depressingly metallic. The snow leopard didn't show any signs of obvious distress, but if I had my way they wouldn't be allowed to have any of the big cats (sorry kids, but its too cruel to see these magnificent animals struggling to cope in the space they are allotted.) Arguments about 'big enclosures' seem irrelevant to me. These animals need ACRES of space.

AND THE UGLY:

The Polar Bear is MISERABLE. She paces constantly, or swims in circles in the water. There was talk of trying to improve her environment, as she is so obviously bored. This was months ago and as far as I can see nothing has been done. The first time I saw her I left the zoo in tears. I can only hope they move her somewhere else soon.

KIDS AND FACILITIES:
When I was a kid there was a monkey playground next to the kids one, with the same stuff in each, which was good, but they have since altered this and built special playgrounds for kids. There is also Darwins Maze, which is good fun for tiny feet, and ok even for short people like myself who hate getting lost. Other attractions are the educational displays which are very well good. Everything is labelled and the signposting is good. Toilet facilities are reasonable, and the staff are helpful and friendly. There are two shops ? one devoted to penguins and a large gift shop at the exit. There are also two main cafes, one of which is closed in winter, and a couple of kiosks. The winter café serves sandwiches and main meals but it's a little like eating in a barn, so I prefer to take a picnic. There are good disabled facilities and I think you can even hire wheelchairs.



THE BEST BITS:

The penguins. Edinburgh zoo has the biggest penguin enclosure in the world, with Rockhoppers, (which are kept away from the others as they are territorial), Macaronis and King Penguins. They have lots of space, their own
diving board, and every day they get the chance to come out of the enclosure and take a walk around some green space (at about 0.5 miles per hour) while everyone fights to get the best space in which to take a photo. Be warned, the penguins only come out for a walk if they want to. There?s no forcing a stubborn penguin!

The Reptile House: one of the quietest places for obvious reasons. Plenty of interesting frogs of funny colours, and lots of lizards and crocodiles. Lots to see and children can touch things, there is usually a member of staff in there to help with educational activities. I like scaly things, but this might not be to everyone?s taste.

The Red Panda: Everyone's favourite fluffy thing. (No, its not a bear, its actually from the racoon family.)

The Sea Lions: Right at the entrance, these are always entertaining and they play up when people are watching. You never quite know when they are going to emerge!


RANGE:
There is a fantastic range of animals. Some of the ones I can remembering seeing are: snow leopard, siberian tiger, lioness, meerkats, orynx, pgymy hippo, white rhino, owls, giraffe (there is a baby too who is really cute!), lemurs, otters, camels, zebra, kangaroos, ostrich, flamingoes, lots of funny hairy pigs (cant remember their names!!), gorillas, various monkeys, and of course the penguins.

TIPS: wear comfy shoes and avoid the polar bear if you are easily upset!

All in all I had a better time than I had expected and was surprised at the good conditions for most of the animals. Still don?t like zoos though?..

Edinburgh Zoo is at 134 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh, EH12 6TS. Tel: +44(0)131-334-9171. Opening times: April-September 6.00pm. October and March 5.00pm November-February 4.30pm.

Summary: