History of Edinburgh Zoo - Early History

Early History

In its opening year the zoo was incorporated by Royal Charter—though it was not granted the use of the "Royal" title until 1948, following a visit by King George VI. As of June 2011 Edinburgh Zoo was the only zoo in Britain with a Royal Charter. The original charter defined the zoological society's mission as being "to promote, facilitate and encourage the study of zoology and kindred subjects and to foster and develop amongst the people an interest in and knowledge of animal life."

Thanks to the zoological society's connection with the Salvesen family, some of the zoo's first animals were three King Penguins, arriving from South Georgia with a Christian Salvesen whaling expedition that docked in Leith in early 1914. They were the first penguins to be seen anywhere in the world outside of the South Atlantic. The zoo successfully hatched the first ever captive King Penguin chick in 1919. Penguins continued to arrive with whaling ships for years afterwards. Today, King Penguins are perhaps the zoo's most famous animals.

A tropical bird and reptile house was added in 1925, followed by an aquarium, paid for by a grant, in 1927, and an ape house in 1929. The now famous penguin pool was constructed in 1930—though it has since been rebuilt, in 1990, to include a new viewing area. It was in 1928 that the Corstorphine Golf Club finally evacuated the 47 acres (19 ha) to the north of the estate, allowing the zoo to expand significantly. This new area of the park was again designed by Mears, along with his partner Carus-Wilson, and was completed in 1937.

Hagenbeck's modern zoo techniques proved effective, and Edinburgh quickly gained a reputation for its good animal conditions. 1934 saw the births in captivity of a sea lion and beaver, and in 1936 a baby chimpanzee followed. A litter of wolves was born in 1938, and soon afterwards the first orangutan to be born in Britain.