-
4 days ago | 
theedinburghreporter.co.uk | George Mair
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) attraction has since 2021 been home to five male Nubian giraffes named Ronnie, Arrow, Fennessy, Gerald and Gilbert. They live in a £2.8 million state of the art bachelor pad including high level walkways to allow visitors to meet them face-to-face, with an outdoor enclosure the size of a football pitch with some of the best views in the city.
-
5 days ago | 
theedinburghreporter.co.uk | George Mair
Keepers prepared frozen grapes and orange and blackcurrant flavoured lollies for the troop of 13 endangered Western chimpanzees basking in the attraction’s award-winning Budongo Trail. Temperatures were predicted to soar to 27C with Scotland enjoying the warmest day of the year. But while the most extreme heat failed to materialise, the chimps were still grateful for a cooling treat.
-
2 weeks ago | 
theedinburghreporter.co.uk | George Mair
Writers Sir Ian Rankin and Val McDermid, actor Alan Cumming, musician Lauren Mayberry and former footballer, Pat Nevin, are among those whose recommendations will be included in a special centenary exhibition opening on 20 June at the library on George IV Bridge. The “Dear Library” event will be a “love letter to libraries”, curated in partnership with people across Scotland.
-
2 weeks ago | 
theedinburghreporter.co.uk | George Mair
Polar bear Victoria died last month aged 28, at her home at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore. The wildlife conservation charity’s experts carried out an on-site post mortem, which established that the 400kg bear had “advanced arthritis in her limbs and spine”.
-
2 weeks ago | 
theedinburghreporter.co.uk | George Mair
An online petition calls for The Scottish Government to officially recognise August 23 each year as “Wallace Day”. The date marks the anniversary of the freedom fighter’s gruesome death in London in 1305. The campaign is being led by the Society of William Wallace, which commemorates “Scotland’s national hero”. It calls for “a national day of remembrance and celebration in honour of Sir William Wallace, one of Scotland’s most iconic figures”.
-
2 weeks ago | 
theedinburghreporter.co.uk | George Mair
The avian love triangle developed after a male known as Newboy mated with two females on the same nest. Rather than attempt to oust each other, the resident female known as Mrs O accepted the younger bird dubbed F2. They took turns incubating their four eggs while Newboy provided fish for the nest in behaviour never before captured on camera.
-
3 weeks ago | 
theedinburghreporter.co.uk | George Mair
The Scottish SPCA criticised the use of the “indiscriminate and inhumane” traps after the latest incident in which a magpie was discovered stuck to a glue trap that was intended for rodent control near homes in Glasgow. Another “distressing” case involved a pair of robins, which suffered an “horrific death” after being caught in a trap in Edinburgh.
-
3 weeks ago | 
theedinburghreporter.co.uk | George Mair
Atlantic puffins flock to the Isle of May National Nature Reserve (NNR) in the outer Firth of Forth each year to breed. More than 40,000 pairs nest in burrows on the NatureScot reserve, five miles off the coast of Fife, which is the UK’s third largest colony. Adult puffins started to arrive for this year’s breeding season in March. The first eggs laid in mid April have now hatched, with parents seen bringing fish back to their nests.
-
3 weeks ago | 
theedinburghreporter.co.uk | George Mair
The Seabird Resilience Fund was announced by The Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) hosted by NatureScot. Scotland’s seabird numbers have fallen dramatically since 1986, with the number of birds on coastal breeding grounds now nearly half of what it was 40 years ago. Funded by voluntary donations from offshore renewable energy developers, the new fund will support practical projects to protect seabirds from the threats they face at sea and on land.
-
3 weeks ago | 
theedinburghreporter.co.uk | George Mair
The medal awarded to Captain James Ross, from Bonnyrigg in Midlothian, was bought by Spurs, the London club he went on to play for after the war. Ross won the Military Cross for his “conspicuous gallantry” fighting with the North Staffordshire regiment on the Western Front in 1918. After the war “Jimmy” played as a right back for Raith Rovers before transferring to Tottenham in 1923.
