Edinburgh Zoo Edinburgh Zoo News 2023

First visit today since 2013, the zoo seems to be doing well considering how much money has been going on panda loan all these years. A volunteer said that the Pandas will be going off-show at the end of the month in prep for the move.

A really enjoyable visit, am glad to have seen the zoo again
 
Crowthorne said:
First visit today since 2013, the zoo seems to be doing well considering how much money has been going on panda loan all these years. A volunteer said that the Pandas will be going off-show at the end of the month in prep for the move.

A really enjoyable visit, am glad to have seen the zoo again
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update, but would that money not be well spent then?

Currently they cost £375k each to loan (although prior to 2020 it was 750k each) but if you look at the first year alone of them being there the zoo revenue went from 5m to 15m.

I do think Edinburgh could of actually capitalised on the pandas a little bit more than they have, considering earlier this year they raised over £42k in 90 minutes for a few panda themed events tickets (sold out).
 
Last edited:
GeeZee said:
Currently they cost £375k each to loan (although prior to 2020 it was 750k each) but if you look at the first year alone of them being there the zoo revenue went from 5m to 15m.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but which financial reports do you have? The 2012 RZSS annual report states that income increased from 9.7 to 14.9 million pounds in 2012, while total expenditure also increased from 10.5 to 13.5 million pounds. All the annual reports indicate that the RZSS has higher revenue in the past 10 years and is not running losses, but there doesn't seem to be much money for investment. Visitor numbers have for most of the past decade also been lower then in 2010....
 
lintworm said:
Sorry, but which financial reports do you have? The 2012 RZSS annual report states that income increased from 9.7 to 14.9 million pounds in 2012, while total expenditure also increased from 10.5 to 13.5 million pounds. All the annual reports indicate that the RZSS has higher revenue in the past 10 years and is not running losses, but there doesn't seem to be much money for investment. Visitor numbers have for most of the past decade also been lower then in 2010....
Click to expand...

It’s right here & we can discuss visitor figures (EZ was the most visited paid attraction in Scotland in 2021 for instance) but I don’t think that’s the only indicator , for example increased revenue from merchandise, advertising, events (as I mentioned) etc.

Edinburgh zoo's pandas help boost visitor numbers by 51% | Edinburgh | The Guardian
 
GeeZee said:
It’s right here & we can discuss visitor figures (EZ was the most visited paid attraction in Scotland in 2021 for instance) but I don’t think that’s the only indicator , for example increased revenue from merchandise, advertising, events (as I mentioned) etc.

Edinburgh zoo's pandas help boost visitor numbers by 51% | Edinburgh | The Guardian
Click to expand...

I think you should read your source again and in fairness it is better to use primary sources like the zoos annual reports instead of secondary ones like newspaper articles as they tend to make mistakes, just as this one does.
 
Last edited:
lintworm said:
I think you should read your source again and in fairness it is better to use primary sources like the zoos annual reports instead of secondary ones like newspaper articles as they tend to make mistakes, just as this one does.
Click to expand...


But the source is from the zoo itself?

“The zoo's charitable owners, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said its overall income jumped by more than £5m to nearly £15m last year, and the number of visitors leapt by 51% following the arrival of Tian Tian and Yang Guang in late December 2011.”
 
GeeZee said:
But the source is from the zoo itself?

“The zoo's charitable owners, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said its overall income jumped by more than £5m to nearly £15m last year, and the number of visitors leapt by 51% following the arrival of Tian Tian and Yang Guang in late December 2011.”
Click to expand...

You newspaper quote says income jumped by more than £5m. That is something different than what you wrote:

GeeZee said:
but if you look at the first year alone of them being there the zoo revenue went from 5m to 15m.
Click to expand...

The same newspaper article also writes that profits increased to 5 million pounds:

Royal Zoological Society of Scotland says Sunshine and Sweetie are headline act after profits increase more than £5m
Click to expand...

Which is false as they mix up profits and revenue, they do correct that later on:

The pandas' Chinese names were trademarked before they flew to Edinburgh in December 2011, a year when the society reported a £1.2m deficit after taking out two bank loans to help it cover earlier losses. This year, its overall surplus is £2.4m.
Click to expand...

Seeing how easy even reputable newspapers make mistakes, you should preferably refer to the official documents from the RZSS, which can easily be found online.
 
ZooTripper365 said:
I would have hoped to see pandas at Chester next but given the extensive work their doing with the Heart Of Africa project it is highly unlikely. Maybe part if a snow leopard development in a couple years, but again I can't see this happening.
Click to expand...

That would be nice, in the recent past London and to a lesser extent Colchester have been contenders too.
 
lintworm said:
in fairness it is better to use primary sources like the zoos annual reports instead of secondary ones like newspaper articles as they tend to make mistakes, just as this one does.
Click to expand...

lintworm said:
Seeing how easy even reputable newspapers make mistakes, you should preferably refer to the official documents from the RZSS, which can easily be found online.
Click to expand...

It's probably futile pointing this out, as I've had the exact same discussion in the past when they have made incorrect claims about visitor numbers and profits at the zoo and insisted that the figures in the official RZSS reports are incorrect :p

lintworm said:
Visitor numbers have for most of the past decade also been lower then in 2010....
Click to expand...

In fact, after the first four years of the giant pandas being present, visitor numbers had falling below those experienced during the 2008-2010 recession - which had previously been the worst slump in numbers the zoo had experienced, to the point there were numerous press reports in 2008 and 2009 fearing for the future of the zoo.
 
To the above, my initial point wasn’t to do with visitor figures at all, rather value for money, that is all :)

With reference to our conversation before that you mention, I was only saying that the numbers quoted were simply standard entrance numbers, while the figures I used were from the ALVA, which included visitor numbers for events (such as the lanterns of China etc) & they confirmed that those figures were submitted by the RZSS themselves.

Maybe this is subjective, but I feel that “visitor numbers” should include things like events to get a better picture of how many people are visiting the zoo.
 
GeeZee said:
That would be nice, in the recent past London and to a lesser extent Colchester have been contenders too.
Click to expand...
YWP? The uk polar bear population is rising in other collections so I fear that they soon will need a new commercial draw to the park. Maybe somewhere near the Himalayan pass or up to the side near the new cheetah development.
 
ZooTripper365 said:
YWP? The uk polar bear population is rising in other collections so I fear that they soon will need a new commercial draw to the park. Maybe somewhere near the Himalayan pass or up to the side near the new cheetah development.
Click to expand...

I doubt it; firstly I don't think they are high profile enough for the Chinese government to approve a panda export, secondly I don't think they could afford the rental costs, and finally such an import wouldn't allow them to go for their usual "we have saved XYZ species from the following bad situation" angle :p
 
I thought September may be my last visit but thought I’d best go again to see the pandas before they leave.

Unsuprisingly the zoo was extremely busy, and the queue for the pandas was leading out the gate, and volunteers trying to control it but was worth the wait.

You could feel the emotion, its sad really, I’ve said many times now but in a lot of ways they have become a part of Edinburgh’s identity.

I am glad there was such a good turnout, this trip was quite unexpected as for quite sometime it was assumed they may go as early as October.

Unusually I saw both of them outside at the same time too!
 
GeeZee said:
I thought September may be my last visit but thought I’d best go again to see the pandas before they leave.

Unsuprisingly the zoo was extremely busy, and the queue for the pandas was leading out the gate, and volunteers trying to control it but was worth the wait.

You could feel the emotion, its sad really, I’ve said many times now but in a lot of ways they have become a part of Edinburgh’s identity.

I am glad there was such a good turnout, this trip was quite unexpected as for quite sometime it was assumed they may go as early as October.

Unusually I saw both of them outside at the same time too!
Click to expand...
Were you there today? I went today too but in the afternoon. Things to note:

  • The vultures are both in the new enclosure which is far better for them than their old area. The climbing frames have been removed and some new boxes and perches have been added instead.


  • Vulturine gunieafowl sign has been removed from african aviary

  • There are still YB capuchins in the monkey house.

  • The penguin area where the nests usually are have been resurfaced

  • Saw all the nyalas including the baby

  • Saw both the pandas for the last time- just their backs though

  • Many fences have been replaced and common carp and the water plants in the chimpanzee moat have been removed.

  • The warty piglets are much bigger now and very active

  • The old vulture cage has work being done on it and part of the walkway has been demolished. According to a sign, the L’hoest’s monkeys are moving in there.
 
felis silvestris said:
The vultures are both in the new enclosure which is far better for them than their old area. The climbing frames have been removed and some new boxes and perches have been added instead.
Click to expand...

felis silvestris said:
The old vulture cage has work being done on it and part of the walkway has been demolished. According to a sign, the L’hoest’s monkeys are moving in there.
Click to expand...

A fairly big upgrade for one taxon, a major downgrade for the other :p
 
felis silvestris said:
Were you there today? I went today too but in the afternoon. Things to note:

  • The vultures are both in the new enclosure which is far better for them than their old area. The climbing frames have been removed and some new boxes and perches have been added instead.


  • Vulturine gunieafowl sign has been removed from african aviary

  • There are still YB capuchins in the monkey house.

  • The penguin area where the nests usually are have been resurfaced

  • Saw all the nyalas including the baby

  • Saw both the pandas for the last time- just their backs though

  • Many fences have been replaced and common carp and the water plants in the chimpanzee moat have been removed.

  • The warty piglets are much bigger now and very active

  • The old vulture cage has work being done on it and part of the walkway has been demolished. According to a sign, the L’hoest’s monkeys are moving in there.
Click to expand...


Yes haha, you may of seen me, it was a nice day weatherwise as well especially for this time of year. Didn’t expect it to be as busy as it was but towards the end of the day the panda enclosure quietened down a bit and I got some great views of them both outside.

It’s going to be quite strange without them, I noticed that they’ve already replaced the farewell advertising outside the Zoo with a sign about the ice rink next month.

I do still feel that while the zoo has made the most of them in their time here, I feel they could of done a few more events and things as the pandas are leaving, considering how quickly tickets sold out back in January for the extremely limited amount of events available.

As an example, Smithsonian zoo had a 2 week special of panda themed events before their pandas left. But then I guess there is the inevitable criticism that it would be seen that the zoo is trying purely to just make money off them.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top