Looking inside one of the 2 main enclosures. The black frames( in the distance) will have 5 floor to ceiling glass viewing areas. The visitor walkway inside is divided into 2 sections- the front half is at ground level and the back half is slightly raised up (about 2 steps higher). As far I am led to believe there will be no outdoor viewing area for visitors unlike Vienna Zoo which is a great pity.
It's actually catering for prevailling Scottish weather which, whilst great for the pandas, helps keep the humans dry when it's raining! It's also an attempt to try and replicate a forest of bamboo that the visitor shall be walking through. It also helps to provide an overhang along the south enclosure which is where the female is to be housed. It seems that the female prefers shaded areas which in the design would be next to the window. This, in theory, should provide an improved chance of visitors seeing the female.
I think the real result will be to see how the pandas both settle into the enclosure and, in the long term, breed as well, regardless of whether or not there is an outdoor area for visitors!
Not sure how the indoor area is going to work. Hopefully the Scottish climate will be such that the pandas themselves will want to spend more time outside than in.
Really have to congratulate pandagirlvienna on the photos from the main site of the enclosure rather than just looking over to it. Gives a great idea of how the work is going.
Thank you Simon about the lovely comment regarding my photos - I know that friends of Vienna Zoo + around Europe have really appreciated these 1st glimpses. Some of my best experiences of pandas have been standing in pouring rain - watching Vienna's 1st cub - 'Fu Long' climbing and playing in torrential rain ! At the end of the day he looked better than me (see my flickr site -http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizabethssceniceurope/ then click on 'animals' set). I don't mind standing in all weathers to be with animals rather than having a glass wall in between but I do appreciate that some of your visitors will not wish this ! Vienna's amazing outdoor viewing area has not disturbed the pandas or affected breeding quite the opposite - this is still to date the zoo with the best record outside of China to have natural births ! Looking forward to hearing more updates of the enclosure from Edinburgh. Keep us posted !
The latest update- see Pandamonium thread in UK Forum- is that work has been halted by a Planning Permission problem. Anyone know exactly what the problem is?
Vienna's amazing outdoor viewing area has not disturbed the pandas or affected breeding quite the opposite - this is still to date the zoo with the best record outside of China to have natural births !
I don't think the viewing facilities have much effect on the Pandas' breeding performance. I'm sure its all down to the complexities of the animals themselves- whether they are a compatable pair, whether they are stimulated enough to breed without other (Male) Pandas being present as 'rivals' (as in the wild), whether both animals are properly socialised as Pandas etc. Vienna's obviously have all the right 'ingredients', and hopefully the Edinburgh ones will have too.
The enclosure has required more work than first thought and planning permission was not submitted. They are still doung some work but just not at the pace which they wished. The Zoo is confident that it will be sorted out soon.
