NEWS

European Cranes Arrived
On the 25th of August, a young pair of European cranes arrived at the Park. The European crane is the most common of the 15 species of crane, but was until recently extinct in the UK. It is only now being reintroduced into parts of southern England. In Scotland, it is now beginning to reappear as an occasional visitor; a single bird was spotted in Insh Marshes, directly opposite the Highland Wildlife Park site in spring 2010.

The species breeds in a variety of shallow freshwater habitats. They are omnivorous, probing and picking for a wide range of plant and animal foods both on dry land and in wetlands. During the breeding season, animal foods—worms, snails, insects, frogs, lizards, snakes, rodents—are very important (especially for the chicks) and tend to be more frequently consumed.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland has brought the cranes into the collection so that our local visitors can become familiar with a species that may be a candidate for reintroduction to the area in the future.

Polar Bear Weigh-In
"Mercedes" the polar bear was weighed on the 9th August. This gives the keepers vital information about her condition and enables them to know what dosage of drugs to use if she becomes ill. Weighing in at 291 kg, she was rewarded with her favourite sweetcorn while having a swim in her pool.

Mercedes moved from Edinburgh Zoo to the Highland Wildlife Park on the 19th of October 2009. Her enclosure is one of the largest in the world for polar bear and was constructed with the help of the Royal Engineers who built a fantastic viewing platform and dug out a huge pond. For more on Mercedes, please click here.

Guide Map
We now have a brand new Guide Map for sale. This ingeniously covers the Reserve and the Walking area, giving lots of interesting facts about the Park and also details on each species. Costing £2.95, these can be picked up at the gate kiosks or in the shop.

Season Tickets
Why not buy a season ticket which lets you visit the Park and Mercedes every day of the year for just £25 (adults) or £15 (children)? Valid for a year from date of purchase, simply fill in the application form on your next visit or telephone 0131 314 0334.

Scotrail Kids go Free Ticket
Up to two children aged between five and 15 can travel free with each adult who purchases a Kids Go Free ticket on any route within Scotland. Show your Kids Go Free ticket at the Highland Wildlife Park or Edinburgh Zoo and get a free child place with each full paying adult.

Other Animal News
We have had 2 Mishmi takin born this year and our Bukhara deer and red deer all have calves. Our European elk, Lisa, had twin calves in May and we have five Kiang foals. In June, a Scottish wildcat kitten was born.

We also have one baby snow monkey, born in April. The female, "Bishoujo", Japanese for "beautiful young girl", is the second snow monkey baby to be reared at the Park since they were introduced to the animal collection three years ago. We are also hoping that other monkey infants may follow later in the season. Aimi, our baby macaque born last year, is fascinated by the new arrival in the group and they are often seen playing together.

Our three tiger cubs born on the 11th of May 2009 had their 1st birthday in May with a special cake! We have one male, Vladimir, and two females, Natalia and Dominika. We currently have talks at the tigers at 2.15pm.

Sadly our female European otter had to be put to sleep at the end of January. She was very old and had been suffering from ill-health for a few weeks.

Wildcats
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is a partner in a number of conservation projects around Scotland, one of which is the Cairngorms Wildcat Project. This project is working to secure the future of the Scottish wildcat through practical conservation; raise awareness of the plight of this iconic species and promote public support of its conservation. As part of this partnership, the Society are placing camera traps around the Cairngorms National Park in the hope of catching a glimpse of this rare, native mammal.

Above is a glimpse of what looks very much like a wildcat moving through the Park at night. They are a difficult species to identify (looking very much like a tabby cat), but the one in the image has the striped tail and the size is right.