GUEST EVENING - 'Zoo Conservation - It's Not All Black and White', Marianne Freeman

Marianne from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland highlighted her talk by introducing us to the giant pandas - Yang Guang and Tian Tian. But before that she explained the Mission Statement of the RZSS:

'Connecting People with Nature. Safeguarding Species from Extinction'

and that the organisation's objectives were directly related to Education; Conservation; Research; Recreation.

Back to the pandas - There are forty-seven pandas in eighteen zoos worldwide. The breeding pair in Edinburgh costs the zoo £1m per year paid to China for the continuing activity of conservation of species in the bamboo forests.

Is Tian Tian pregnant? We'll have to wait a few more months to get the answer to that question......

Other animals studied at the zoo (including the Scottish Wildlife Park) include the Diana Monkey, Penguin, Crane, Deer, Capuchin, Macaw, Parrot and Bison.

The Scottish Wildcat also features with a variety of issues - hybridisation, de-forestation, hunting, road kill and disease. Also it is difficult to tell the difference in cat species although the shape and stripes on the tail are good indicators.

The RZSS also conducts research abroad related to conservation. For example the Giant Armadillo Project - armadillos being solitary animals living in burrows - not much is know about their lifesyle:

'This project aims to establish the first long-term ecological study of giant armadillos in the Brazilian Pantanal wetland, and other Brazilian biomes in the future. The main goal of the project is to investigate the ecology and biology of the species and understand its function in the ecosystem using radio transmitters, camera traps, burrow surveys, resource monitoring, resource mapping and interviews.'    (source - RZSS website)

Following a variety of questions the Club's Vote of Thanks was given by John Sellars.

Report by Ian Greig