Edinburgh Zoo History

Edinburgh Zoo was established in 1913 by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, who continue to own and operate it today. It is a non profit attraction and attracts well over 600,000 visitors from around the world each year.

Edinburgh Zoo is the only zoo in the UK which keeps both polar bears and koalas. It was also notably the first zoo in the world to keep and breed penguins, in fact the daily 'Penguin Parade' remains one of the key attractions of the zoo to this day.

The zoo has recently embarked on a monumental £58 million pound redevelopment plan which will take between 10 and 20 years to complete and result in not only structural changes but additions to the zoo's inhabitants including a breeding pair of Giant Panda's from China. These are scheduled to arrive in 2009 in time for the centenary celebrations for the Royal Zoological Society.

The most notable events in the Zoo's history can be seen on our Edinburgh Zoo Timeline.

The mission statement of Edinburgh Zoo

"To excite and inspire our visitors with the wonder of living animals, and so to promote the conservation of threatened species and habitats"

Official Edinburgh Zoo website

Written by Shaun Flanagan