Edinburgh Zoo Pandamonium to hit Edinburgh! #1

Edinburgh have certainly achieved a Coup if this now goes ahead and it will no doubt boost their attendance figures massively, something they appear to need at the present time. Seventeen years seems longer than the usual foreign Panda Loan agreement period, which if memory serves, has been 10 years in most instances.

I imagine it will also stipulate that any young born at Edinburgh must return to China after three years.
 
Zoo nerd alert - my first thought: that completes the set for bear species in UK zoos - so long as nothing dies out in the meantime!
 
Zambar said:
The story on the BBC, which mentions they'll be kept in the old gorilla enclosure.
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This is where the Guinea baboon troop are currently living (pix in Gallery). presumably they will move them out to new quarters.

It is quite suitable for Giant Panda (actually this is the reverse of Taronga Park in Australia where Gorillas replaced the Pandas after they left!) and I'm sure they will landscape the outdoors(rocks, bamboo, stream(?) etc) and perhaps modify/alter the indoors a bit too- when Gorillas were kept the indoor area was extremely gloomy and the floor level is well below the public viewing area so you look down on the animals if they are on their floor- not a good system.

There are also two enclosures, both inside and out, so its ideal for keeping the pair seperate if/when they need to. They may need to improve the outside viewing though- it was very poor in the Gorilla days.
 
This is great news, will definately have to pay a visit when they arrive :) (though I imagine it will be impossible to get anywhere near for the first couple of months).

@Pertinax - I'm not sure if I've missed something, but it reads to me that they will not be on loan for 17 years, it's 17 years since pandas have been in the UK. (Presumably the last ones being at London in 1993/4?)

the first to live in the UK for 17 years
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Nisha said:
and just before 1pm are all set to sign a 17 year loan agreement with RZSS for 1:1 Giant Panda to travel to Scotland in the near future.
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I got that bit from here but maybe its a misunderstanding. I think 10 years is a more likely period.

Also the 'Scotsman' article says a 'new enclosure' will have to be built but I think using the old Gorilla enclosure with a revamp is far more likely.

For all UK Zoo enthusiasts under the age of about 25 this is VERY BIG news....:)
 
I live in Edinburgh and visit the zoo at least once a week, once the Pandas arrive I think I will be there everyday.
 
London to Edinburgh

Good news for Edinburgh Zoo, Bad news for ZSL London Zoo. Especially when you can fly to Edinburgh airport quicker than by rail from London.

I have just checked Cheap flights - Find and book cheap flights on easyJet.com and one can obtained a flight leaving London Stansted on 7th June at 8.10am arriving Edinburgh Airport on 9.25am and catch a bus towards the City Centre which stops beforehand outside the Zoo. Then a flight back departing 7.10pm or 8.50pm arriving back 8.25pm and 10.05pm respectively with the flight cost of £41 return.

The cheapest London to Edinburgh advance rail ticket is £31 with a total round trip journey time of just under 10 hours.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY TIPS WHEN TRAVELLING TO THE ZOO FROM THE AIRPORT?
 
Misunderstanding about the 17 year agreement. Sorry :o

I didn't realise until today that they had got as far as choosing the individuals that will make the trip to Scotland. According to the BBC article in Zambar's post above they will be a male called Tian Tian and a female by the name of Yangguang.

Now here's hoping that they can raise the money needed to bring them here!
 
You can catch the Airport bus which is the number 100 which stops right outside the zoo.
 
Danny said:
Good news for Edinburgh Zoo, Bad news for ZSL London Zoo. Especially when you can fly to Edinburgh airport quicker than by rail from London.

I have just checked Cheap flights - Find and book cheap flights on easyJet.com and one can obtained a flight leaving London Stansted on 7th June at 8.10am arriving Edinburgh Airport on 9.25am and catch a bus towards the City Centre which stops beforehand outside the Zoo. Then a flight back departing 7.10pm or 8.50pm arriving back 8.25pm and 10.05pm respectively with the flight cost of £41 return.

The cheapest London to Edinburgh advance rail ticket is £31 with a total round trip journey time of just under 10 hours.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY TIPS WHEN TRAVELLING TO THE ZOO FROM THE AIRPORT?
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if you jump on a number 100 bus from the airport it stops at the zoo doors then cross the road and get the same bus back lol
 
How much do they have to pay?

Does anyone know how much they have to pay the Chinese authorities for the loan each year and is there an additional cost for each baby produced?
 
It costs approx $1,000,000 per panda per year of the loan agreement. Although this will be more than covered by the number of additional people visiting the zoo.

This is one thing I wish Chester had tried to do.

Looking forward to going to see them, probably next year though.
 
And I just moved to Edinburgh (to do my Master's at Napier University)!

Would you consider me lucky? I guess you would. Would I consider myself lucky? Well, depends. I have actually seen Pandas in Berlin, Vienna, San Diego and Washington; so they are by no means as exotic to me as to all those who have never seen one.

I just fear that the Zoo (which I look forward to see for the first time, once the snow goes down) will turn into a circus that will revolve entirely around the pandas, and that everything else the zoo has and supposedly displays well will fall in their shaddow. That would be sad as many of their species are at least as interesting, if not more, than the pandas. I was fortunate to visit Adelaide Zoo months before their pandas arrived; they hadn't even had them confirmed yet so they hadn't even started making the exhibit. Adelaide is one of the very best zoos that I have visited, but I wonder if I would think the same, had I visited after the panda circus arrived in town.

But as I'm to finish the course before they arrive here in Edinburgh (assuming that it will be sometime in 2012) most likely the pleasure of seeing them (I love Giant Pandas too, don't get me wrong) will be yours but not mine...
 
[QUOTE.....
For all UK Zoo enthusiasts under the age of about 25 this is VERY BIG news....:)[/QUOTE]


Hey I'm a tad over 25 and it's blooming big news for me too :D
 
This is excellent news but I have a couple of questions. Who pays the loan fee? As has been well publicised Edinburgh has had a poor couple of years financially with visitor numbers having dropped significantly. (Not to mention the loss of a few members of staff and closure of Rainbow landings as a result). It must be nice to know the acquisition of these animals will aleviate these financial worries for the forseeable future. (Though if I had been released as a member of staff I would be feeling a little choked right now)!

And also what determined Edinburgh as the chosen site? (I've been and rate it highly so I don't have a problem with the decision), was just wondering. Especially as it says the all important final agreements have been made in London. (Aren't they always?! Have also been and rate it much less). I realise transport to London is probably much easier
but wondered if there were any other factors.

Finally, and this one might be a silly one, will the Chinese government be sending trained staff to oversee the exhibit alterations? (I'm assuming they will for the first few months of the panda's time here but surely their prior recommendations could be vital especially for any breeding potential).

All in all it's a great piece of news though, can't wait to hear how it progresses.
 
amy said:
And also what determined Edinburgh as the chosen site? (I've been and rate it highly so I don't have a problem with the decision), was just wondering.
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Edinburgh were the zoo that wanted pandas, is all, I think.

I've been informed several times that Chester at least have no interest in bringing them in, as they prefer just to work with them in China. It wouldn't at all surprise me if London were also just not interested.
 
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