Zoo closed because of weather

Yesterday it was a local holiday in Edinburgh, lots of people off work and kids off school.  In the afternoon me and my husband decided to go to the zoo.

The weather had been forecast to be quite bad all day unfortunately with lots of rain and very strong winds predicted.  But we were forewarned so we donned winter coats with hoods, no bags to get wet and I wore my wellington boots.

We got there about 2.10pm and headed straight for the penguin parade.  There weren't too many people there so there were going to do just a short route, from one part of the enclosure to the next.  At about 2.15pm it was announced that the zoo would be closing...after the penguin parade.  Not urgent enough to close straight away of course but it would indeed be closing.

It wasn't announced that refunds would be given but certainly the people that did ask were told to go to the ticket office.  I don't know if they were given refunds or tickets to come again another day - but either way I wonder if they will come back?

Did the zoo really need to close?  Maybe so.  Yes it's on a hill, yes the wind was very strong and yes there were trees knocked over in other areas of Scotland.  I understand that it's not worth the risk.  But the area surrounding the penguins, going about as far as the sun bears, wasn't too bad.  Would it have be possible to barrier off the roads leading up the hill, citing it to be too dangerous to go up there?  The zoo still may have had to compensate the guests but they'd be a lot more likely to come back knowing that the zoo had done it's best to keep them happy.

Surely not every visitor to the zoo is local and certainly not every visitor can easily come back another day.

I want to try to be fair to the zoo, they cannot afford to risk any sort of accident or any legal actions against them caused by an accident.  Also, both the Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Botanic Gardens were reported to have shut due to the weather.  I only wonder if there was anything else the zoo could have done to keep guests happy?

Maybe I'm wrong about the reason the zoo shut and it wasn't about accidents or falling tree's/branches, maybe it was somehow about the animals.  Surely everyone would have been a lot more understanding if it was communicated more effectively.  But then communication and Edinburgh Zoo don't usually go hand in hand.

Maybe there should be a way of checking the status of the zoo on their website, whether it's likely to be closed that day.  Just one of the many things that it would be useful to have on the website.  Althought that would require the website to be up to date and now I know I'm asking too much.

My view of the state of Edinburgh Zoo and the RZSS - post EGM May 2011

We went to the EGM of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland last thursday. Lots of questions asked but hardly any answers given, we were even fed a 'I cannot comment' at one point. The Chairman was given a vote of no confidence but the board weren't.

It seems like all the important people there don't actually go to the zoo, or other zoos to see the big picture. They see figures and gate entries and that's all they're interested in. Don't they realise that if the visitors don't get a good experience then they won't come back, and they won't tell their friends. Low gate numbers aren't due to the bad weather or the recession it's because when folk do come they don't enjoy their visit, they tell their friends and family about it and they don't come back. It seems very simple to me, but I'm just a pleb.

They really seem to think that the arrival of two giant pandas in the next couple of months will change everything.  Pandas are great, of course, but after you've seen them once and took a wee photo there's not much else to see. They eat and sleep, and doze, and occasionally turn their head...really not much else. People may well come to see them, but the panda's will not be a good enough reason for a return visit - the rest of their experience would have to have been exceptional to make them come back. Americans (certainly from central and west states) don't need to come to Edinburgh to see giant pandas, they can see them in San Diego (which is a fantastic zoo). The panda project is great for the UK as a whole but it is not an answer to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's problems.

This is the usual kind of picture you get of a panda - they don't tend to pose!

There's a raft of problems and nearly every member and visitor has a comment or two to make.  The board apologised last weekt for not keeping members more informed and that they wish to improve communication.  But what about two-way communication?  Members wanted to have their say at the EGM, when it wasn't really the correct arena for it, because there aren't any other channels.  We want to tell them our views of the situation but they don't seem to want to hear it.  All members just want the best for the zoo and the society, so why not just listen?

My husband and I will certainly be at the AGM next week.

They're currently spending a lot of money on a new entrance hall, so of course they were asked why.  They didn't say to ease queuing times, or aid the giving details for gift aid or even to make first impressions of the zoo better for the visitor.  No, their answer was to create a bigger gift shop.  You've paid a fortune to get you and your family into the zoo, stared at empty enclosures, walked up a huge steep hill to see hardly anything other than a nice view of Edinburgh and you've spent another fortune on food and drink from the catering outlets all day.  Then, on your way out they want you to spend again - on cuddly toys, fridge magnets, pictures, toys, and postcards, etc.  They already had a shop in the entrance/exit hall, you were forced to walk through it to get out of the park, but apparently it wasn't big enough!  The commercial side of the zoo only sees catering outlets and shops, ways of making more money once you're in.  Forget the amount of toilet facilites (or the quality and maintenance of them), forget precious photo opportunities and interactivity for guests, forget cleanliness and upkeep of enclosures, and forget the animals - apparently animals just aren't that important in a zoo.  Who knew?