Edinburgh Zoo closed back in March 2020, and finally at the end of June was able to re-open again! There are of course a number of measures in place to keep it safe for everyone, with limited numbers of guests permitted, timed entry slots and social distancing observed to name a few. As a Zoo member, I was able to book a members slot to visit and went on the first weekend of opening on the 4th of July, at this time there was still a 5mile travel ‘ban’ as such, you shouldn’t be travelling more than that distance from your home, so it was still local guests, however that was soon lifted and has allowed more guests the option to visit. Tickets are selling out almost a couple of weeks in advance, so if you’re looking for a specific date, definitely check to book sooner rather than later. It was a little damp on our visit, but not enough to spoil our visit! There is also a new map with the one-way system marked on, and around the paths are various arrows and signs indicating where you should be going – some visitors seemed to not be paying too much attention to these, however there were staff members around to help direct. There were also hand-sanitising stations available, and the toilets (along with some animal viewing areas) were designated as ‘one troop at a time’ to keep with distancing (again, some guests were ignoring this at viewing areas). Some of the animal viewings also had queue systems set up, particularly at the pandas and the lions, however everyone was pretty orderly, and distancing was mostly observed between groups. Now onto the animals!
Tian Tian
Of course the pandas were the priority of my visit! With the rain they were both inside, Yang Guang (male) was enjoying some quality snooze time, however Tian Tian (female) was up and about and pretty active! She had the grate down over one door, however could have gone out the second door in the enclosure, but she kept looking out, presumably seeing the rain, and then coming back in to wander around again. I’m yet to see her outside, one day it will happen! But she was a lot more active than I’ve seen her before, certainly while here in the new enclosure. Shortly after we arrived, she was taken through to the back (off show) den and a keeper went in to give some fresh bamboo and some treats (it looked like panda cake and a carrot), and Tian Tian immediately came back in when she was allowed and headed straight for the cake! I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned before, but Edinburgh panda fans will be aware of the less-than-ideal-glass situation at the new enclosure, it’s so reflective! If it’s sunny it’s almost impossible to get good pictures, with the more dull weather I got very lucky as I think these are some of the best pictures of Tian Tian that I’ve gotten. With the limited number of people allowed to view at once, staff were moving people on after an appropriate amount of time (otherwise I would have stayed all day here, haha), but we headed to see a few other animals on the hillside, before making use of the loop on the hill that is in the one-way system, so headed back to the pandas a second time, this time Tian Tian was also enjoying a post-snack nap^
Aside from pandas
Whilst it might not have been perfect weather to see the pandas outside (or many other animals for that matter!), there was still plenty of activity and cute-ness to enjoy! The meerkats are the first animal that you meet when entering the zoo and they were, and always are, very popular – you can view them both inside and outside, but on this day they were making use of the rocks at the back of the enclosure, I’ve never seen so many of them up here together, normally there is just one on lookout, but these guys were having a nice little huddle^ The flamingos are also in the same area, however the viewing window for these is a lot smaller and it was very crowded when we were there, so we just headed past them this time. The window for the indoor viewing of the Sun Bears is also quite small, the first time we walked past it was very busy, but I got a good view the second time, with one of them having a good look around the indoor enclosure. I’ve seen them outside before on quite a few different occasions, the enclosure is great because it’s quite overgrown (I’ve always assumed on purpose!), which makes some great hiding spots, and all of a sudden a bear can just appear. There are also some great enrichment items outside, I once watched female Babu intently working away at a log with her claws and snout for a good half an hour!
The wallaby walkthrough is my route of choice to get to the pandas – these guys never fail to be active or cute, there’s always jumping around or one sitting super close to the path having some time people-watching. There’s also always one who seems to hang around the exit gate, I’m convinced he’s planning to make his escape one day and is just waiting for the right moment =D After the pandas up the hill you can see all of the cats of the zoo – first up the tiger. Right now there is just one female, and she can be a little elusive at times, but I got lucky on this visit! She was just sitting out on one of her platforms, and after snapping a few pictures she threw her head back and rolled over just like my cat at home does – it was adorable^ The enclosure is perfectly ‘over grown’ makes for some good hiding spots. And then on from the tiger enclosure leads to the lions, the couple had a litter of cubs last year, I spotted them a few times in my visits at the end of 2019, but it was always very busy and I couldn’t get any pictures – now they’re very close to being the same size as the adults! There was an efficient queueing system to view the lions, but we really didn’t have to wait too long, less than ten minutes. The cubs were inside sleeping with dad, while initially mum was outside, then she came in to check on everyone. Unfortunately the group who were viewing at the same time as us had multiple cameras/phones with multiple flashes (which are not allowed anywhere in the zoo), and I could really tell that mum was a little disturbed by it (cubs were sound asleep and didn’t seem to notice!). Also on the hill is the Scottish Wildcat enclosure – I’ve had mixed success in seeing any cats in here, it’s a lovely Scottish forest environment with a lot of trees and coverage. I got lucky and spotted a cat amongst the trees, however it was impossible to get a photo! But these little cats are so cute – the Highland Wildlife Park has a whole Wildcat complex area, so there are many more to spot there.
Edinburgh Zoo is home to a pair of male Rhinos, these guys really seem like best buds, I always see them hanging out together, it’s super cute^ This time they were sharing a ‘bath’ and were 90% submerged underwater, and every so often there would be some ear-twitches and some bubbles, along with some splashes at each other. I hoped they would emerge at some point, but they were quite content in the water!
And last but not least, the most adorable baby rockhopper chick!! This little fluffy chick was in a separate little area with another penguin. It was partially covered with some netting, and I think some had just fallen away which meant people could get a glimpse in. There was another penguin on the outside of this separated area who was really looking quite angry at the ones in here, perhaps it was one of the parents and wanted access to the chick! I love the half-fluffy look, and seeing this little one try and hop over some of the rocks just makes me smile when I think about it – aside from seeing the pandas, which is always a highlight, this little penguin wins the ‘highlight’ accolade of the trip =D
