going to the zoo!

 

It was those photos of zebras that did it. (See previous blog.) A reminder that it can be a brilliant day out to see the animals in Edinburgh Zoo. We go about once every five years (last trip blogged Sept 2018) and always enjoy it and wonder why it takes so long before returning. Mary's birthday was Tuesday 7th November and she said why don't we go to the zoo? Excellent idea!

We travelled by tram. Up until now I have boycotted the Edinburgh Trams. Because it cost nearly a billion pounds and took decades to lay a few yards of line across town putting small businesses out of business in the process and generally being such an omnishambles (and about 10 times the original cost) that I felt it would be a travesty to jump on board. However, all good things come to an end. 

Since they stop on Leith Walk very close to our flat, I realised next holiday it would be madness to get 2 buses to the airport when we could get one tram. Given the proximity of that holiday it made sense to test the system and find out how you work them, before setting out in the middle of the night with insufficient change or the appropriate cards. In my case that is my Saltire Card which means I will never contribute one penny to this unnecessary vanity project. (Outside of my taxes.) Mary (not yet an oldie despite her birthday) does have to pay the fare. The ride was uneventful. I am not a convert.

Much has remained the same since the last visit although we noticed changes as well. The entry price has always been substantial. About £24 per adult this visit. I imagine this is due to the animal feed and staff wages. It always seems well run and the animals well looked after and very healthy looking. A few things have appeared since last visit and some have disappeared. Sadly this included the Rainbow Lorikeets a superbly interactive Australian small parrot that would sit on your arm and sup fruit juice from a purchase-able cup. They were slightly manic and sups would change into pecks and I can imagine the zoo moved them on after one or 2 close calls with small fingers and over-enthusiastic appetites. It was one of the few disappointments today.

The meerkats are one of the first enclosures you come to and one of the best. Despite being not much more than a large rat, they have a good deal of charm and (every time I have seen them) are always out in their space exploring and performing well, doing that trademark stand and lookout. They walk like small canines rather than slink like rats, maybe that is the difference. And their cage is bordered with a low glass wall as if they don't really require anything to contain them. Easy to photograph and observe and regularly cavorting about, I always feel inclined to linger and take far more images than I need. More photos on the return later!

The light wasn't great earlier but it did brighten up later. I liked this Ibis, (I forget the specific sort,) despite the vulture-like bald face. The patch of iridescent feathers on the wing reminded me of the subtle titanium shades of a lapwing.

One quibble: now you really need a map to get around the place. They used to hand one to you on entry. Probably because they got tired of removing them from cages they now point you to one of these awful scan square things (QR code) that puts a fairly non-specific pdf somewhere in your iPhone and you spend a while trying to find it in downloads. Still not located downloads. Even if you do find it, it rarely tells you exactly what you are looking at. There are good signs on most of the enclosures and remembering this from last visit I took photos of those signs to remind myself afterwards what my favourite beasts were. Below is Kirk's dik-dik. (One of the world's smallest antelope species.) Given it looks like something from Star Trek the name is spot on. For the same reason I can't tell you the specific pig above. They were amusing but not so much I took a photo of their name. You can alphabetically go through a list of animals on their website but it is a long chore. 

A bonus joy is lots of local species hang out here. Of course they do: the place is awash with animal feed often in easy access dishes. Being excited by the prospect of the next enclosure I didn't hang about long enough to get a decent photo of this greenfinch. But there were plenty local squirrels and birds (and I suspect rodents!) about the place. Something good in every corner you looked. 

We found ourselves going past the penguins. They have been stars of this place for many years and have an excellent pond and enclosure. Another place to spend a long time watching their antics, but since we had just arrived we were keen to see more then perhaps return later.

gentoo

lots of insulation in their feet (unsurprisingly)

king penguin

At one point a gang went over to inspect the guys
doing some repair work in a corner of their pool area.

Visayan Warty Pig

Google this one for a sad tale of near extinction in the 6 Visayan Islands of its native Philippines. We took particular notice of it as the smaller of the two visible pigs was being teased by a crow. The crow would hop onto its back. As far as we could see for no other purpose than sport. I have seen crows and jackdaws taking horsehair out of the manes and tails of ponies but I think this one was just trying its powers of rodeo riding as the pig would inevitably take off and trot quickly trying to dislodge the crow, who seemed to be saying to his sidekick partner, see if you can beat 9.4 seconds!

ride 'em cowboy! 

note partner in crime watching on

I'm pretty sure these dinosaurs - towards the top of the hill - are a more recent addition. I haven't seen them before. While they are quite entertaining (some move in a basic animatronic kind of way) and give a good idea of scale, they already look a bit tired and are not weathering the traffic well. And compared to the living exhibits are a poor second. However they don't run off and hide in an inaccessible part of their enclosure so have some advantages. 

I asked Mary to pose with her head in this one's mouth. She resisted. So I had to do it. I was pretty sure it wasn't one with animatronic jaws but did wonder - hence that thoughtful look crossing my mind as Mary took the photo!

There was also a small dark cabin with something like Aquarium written on it. Inside were these animations of an antediluvian scene. Pretty good animation projected across three panels. As we progressed through these areas often seeing empty enclosures or what looked like empty enclosures, Mary guessed that these places and the dino-land exhibits were likely the shape of things to come, a taste of the future when (Bladerunner-like) we are just shown working models, and videos of all the animals we have made extinct. It was a very gloomy thought.

And kind of underlines how much of the work of the Zoo and places like it, are conservation projects aiming to extend the presence of otherwise extinction-prone species. This is more and more the strap lines of live animal exhibitors, even though I suspect most of the people visiting and nearly all of the people working there, are there for the love of the animals and proximity to the animals. What I loved most the previous visit was the Lorikeets because of the interaction, not because they were being brought back from the edge of extinction but because they were sitting on my arm pecking my fingers.

immobile T Rex

Towards the top of the hill we came to the zebras. A couple of things came to mind. One was that I wasn't going to get anything like the photo I got yesterday of the zebra grazing in autumn sunlight with trees and perfect lighting. The other was, "where is the rest of the herd?" I'm sure there were nearer a dozen galloping about this enclosure 5 years ago. I know the establishment struggled during Lockdown - they still had the staff to pay, and had the animals to feed, and there was nobody coming through the front gate (paying £24 a head!) Surely they didn't resort to feeding the zebras to the lions? 

yesterday's zebra photo (sans entry fee)

All of a sudden we were ready for lunch. Even though sunny it was pretty Baltic up the hill and we hurried past the wallabies and otters back down to the cafe. The wallabies look like they are on strike for higher pay and sit doing nothing as far from the public as possible. Usually the otters are nowhere to be seen but as we passed they emerged from wherever and ran about their grassy patch making noises and interacting with each other. They look a bit ugly (something of Charles Bronson look about them) and I mused upon the differences between the rarity of seeing them close by outside in a real world scenario and seeing ten of them scurrying about this grassy enclosure. Of course they lost a lot of that scarcity thing when one or 2 appeared in Dunsapie a couple of years back and suddenly they became commonplace.

Normally I'd take sangwiches and sit on a cold bench saving money. However as Mary's birthday treat we went indoors and ordered TWO COURSES off an overpriced menu. I pretended not to notice the prices or blanch. (It was a similar cost to the entry fee, meaning the whole day was well on the way to three figures.) It was all pretty good quality however and we both rolled out of the cafe, full as an egg. 

I'm pretty sure they replaced the Lorikeets previous enclosure with the tag team of Armadillos and Slothes. I can see the thinking and sure enough both of these Xenarthras are cute and come from the New World. Trouble is they need to be really warm and don't display terribly well. The armadillos run about their barriered territories or bask under sun lamps. The place is tropical hot. The slothes sit curled up in baskets and look like a great aunt's hat collection. We were done in about 4 minutes. Bring back the Lorikeets. Exiting the place you suddenly feel cold and shivery. 

furry hat

there were miniature monkeys that were amazing but impossible to photograph

punky monkey

the koala looked the least happy of all the inmates
refusing to move

panda politics

I've heard Chris Packham express his doubts about pandas. That if they can't really be bothered to reproduce or adapt to their diminishing environment, then perhaps they should be allowed to go extinct? Currently they appear to be being used by the Chinese Government as a pawn in the political process. A utility exclusively farmed by the Chinese to rent out to countries around the world in exchange for whatever: favours or adulation. Recognition and deals. I don't know what the behind-the-scenes deals were in this case but mountains were moved (or at least a substantial part of the zebra enclosure) to accommodate these large and boring cuddly toys.

The attractively designed sign (part of a large PR campaign) that Mary is photographing above has metal poles (made to resemble bamboo) not bamboo. This is possibly a metaphor for the Chinese politicking. More than meets the eye. I won't be sad when these large fluffy double agents return to their handlers in the far east. China has a lot to answer for in terms of animal welfare - I'm thinking of the cruelty of Wuhan wet market and the origins of Covid 19. And the bodyparts of endangered animals being ground down and sold as cures for impotent humans is just so disgusting and so self-absorbed it makes me feel quite racist about 'traditional Chinese medicine'. (TCM). A quick google suggests these remedies are about as impotent as the clients they fail to serve. Yet the slaughter and maltreatment continues. Get your house in order China, stop the old school torture of animals.

"Tigers, pangolins, bears, rhinos and other species are all poached for their body parts for use in TCM to treat ailments from arthritis and epilepsy to erectile dysfunction – despite no scientific basis to support TCM’s claims regarding the efficacy of the vast majority of these remedies." Environmental Investigation Agency

of little value

second visit to the zebras didn't produce the goods either
although they were among my favourite animals today

view from the top of the hill looking out to the Pentlands

poor photo, amazing creature

Also near the top of the hill and easily missed are a couple of giant anteaters. There are a few creatures in the zoo that appear to have originated on a different planet. These are firmly in this category. Long pointy faces like nothing else and elaborate shaggy afghan coats. They were active when we passed but not easy to photograph. I got no sense of what sort of personality they might have - relaxed or quietly furious - but they wandered off with purpose and left me wanting more!

The giraffes also have an unworldly look about their faces, despite being almost synonymous with a day at the zoo. We got lucky with them. The sun had not long appeared and perhaps that was all that it took to get them out for a breather. Five of them emerged from their accommodation hangar in a lofty manner to mooch about in stately fashion, ignoring the paparazzi busy snapping away at the back gate.

Przewalski's horse

I have been familiar with the sturdy thick-necked business of Przewalski's Horses since they appeared on 3D cards given out at Shell Petrol stations in 1975 in association with the WWF. (The Monkey-eating Eagle also being an OMG addition to that gang. AND it was the first time I'd ever heard of an aye-aye!) You can buy the whole set on a backing poster for only £6 on ebay holy feck! Is it just me or did they used to have much more interesting commercial inducements and momentos at petrol stations and tobacconists?  However until this afternoon I have never been entirely sure of the pronunciation of Przewalski. Turns out (after yet another google) it is just about any way you like and that possibly includes the way you are saying it now as long as you say W like a V.

Man I am only just resisting buying those 3D stickers and avoiding trolling through my 70's childhood fixations buying a load of coins and petrol station souvenirs and any amount of tat off eBay! 

back past the otters again - once more out and about

whiskery

head full of teeth

Trigger warning: most disgusting thing of the day...

Once again the crows were paying close attention to the otters. Not particularly welcome attention; the otters would snap at the crows when they came too close and got in their huddle. However the crows kept hassling the otters until one took action, looking like the crows provoked it, it turned and evacuated an amount of liquid and solids (photo above) directly at the crows. Rather than deter the crows, this seemed to be what they were hoping to achieve as they received a hot meal (I imagine) of processed fish and... well I leave it there, quite disgusting. 😬

The sun was out by the time we got to the penguins for the second round. They do seem fairly cheery and very healthy. Some were bombing around the pool jumping clear of the water. They are superb swimmers. Others happily standing around in the sun. At regular intervals one would point its beak skyward and squawk repeatedly. Others would join in. Whatever the penguin equivalent is of wolves' howling. 

grey wagtail in the penguin's pool

gentoo

rockhopper penguins

squawk a doodle do!

This red panda was high in his tree doing some grooming.
It took its head out its lap for just long enough for a photo.

back for a second session at the meerkats' place

These flamingos looked far more like animatronics than real birds. Their legs were clearly made of garden canes held together with lumps of bright plasticine. The large one also had its price tag still on.

I really like the abstract quality of this photo
which focussed on the glass rather than the occupants

The occupants are of course Pelicans. From a distance they are a pleasant if pretty gigantic bird. Up close they are top level bizarro. Their beaks (upper) appear to be made from roughly hewn wood which has been painted but then scuffed to take off most of the paint leaving an attractive distressed finish popular in many hipster cafes. Their faces are nearly normal until they open their beaks (see left below) at which point they look like the offspring of a baseball bat, a swingball and a squeegee mop. When they open their wings and flap they look like they could take a saddle on their backs and carry a small jockey into the sky easily. So its a bit of a shame they probably don't get out much here. But what fantastic creatures and they do appear to be in very good health. A good place to leave this wonderful emporium of marvelous creatures from around the world.

I realise modern zoos are primarily a place for keeping the livestock healthy and interbreeding with other zoos to help animals faced with extinction or decreasing habitat problems. However I am drawn to the place as to an art gallery: I just really like getting near them and photographing them at close quarters, appreciating their behaviour and beauty. Top marks to Edinburgh Zoo as all the inmates seemed to be in great health. And maybe only a few like the koalas, pandas and wallabies seem a bit jaded that they've been signed up for the long haul in a cold damp country.

We walked back home 5miles afterwards to burn off some of the 2 course lunch. I wish I could report we didn't do another 2 course evening meal, but we did! 

in zoo: nearly 4 (hilly) miles in 4hrs45
total: 10 miles in 6hrs30