About the Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo is owned by The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, a registered conservation and education charity, SC 004064. The Society was founded in March 1909, and the Zoo opened in July 1913. We acquired the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig near Aviemore, in 1986. Please click here for more about the History of the Zoo.

Edinburgh Zoo is one of Europe's leading centres of conservation, education and research. Our mission is

'to inspire and excite our visitors with the wonder of living animals, and so to promote the conservation of threatened species and habitats'

We work collectively with many other zoos and conservation agencies in the UK, Europe and around the world in co-ordinated Conservation programmes, to help ensure the survival of many threatened animal species. We also support various conservation projects in the wild through funding and expertise. Our extensive Education programme aims to raise awareness and understanding of the fragility of life on this planet, and our responsibility to help care for it. And we also support a range of targeted Research projects which are designed to enhance our understanding of animals' behavioural and physiological needs, with many useful consequences for conservation in the wild.

The Zoo is also one of Scotland's most successful visitor attractions, second only to Edinburgh Castle in terms of paying visitors, with over 650,000 a year. Open every day of the year including Christmas Day, we have four stars from the VisitScotland quality assurance scheme, and we work hard to offer our visitors a truly great day out. Please see our section on visitor information  for details of all our visitor facilities.

Set in 82 acres of sloping parkland, the Zoo is situated three miles to the west of Edinburgh city centre.  Apart from getting close to over 1,000 rare and beautiful animals there are many different ways to enjoy your day out.  You can enjoy a full range of eating experiences, several play areas, a fantastic gift shop, free hilltop safari rides and a busy programme of events and activities - ranging from keeper talks through to hands-on animal encounters.

Edinburgh Zoo is an active member of the following organisations:

British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA)                

World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) 

European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) 

Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA)     

Explore Edinburgh                           

Edinburgh & Lothians Tourist Board   

If you would like any further information, please contact us on info@rzss.org.uk or telephone 0131-314 0311.

Thank you for your interest.