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A society and a zoo
The Edinburgh lawyer Thomas Gillespie founded the society in 1909, and Edinburgh Zoo opened to the public on 22 July 1913. Patrick Geddes and his son-in-law Frank Mears were largely responsible for its design on the slopes of Corstorphine Hill.


Penguins on the hill
King penguins arrived from a whaling expedition soon after the zoo opened, and in 1919 a king penguin chick hatched there, the first penguin hatched in captivity. The zoo’s Penguin Parade began by accident in 1950.
A royal society
After a visit by King George VI, the society was granted the prefix ‘Royal’ in 1948. In 1986 it acquired the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig, and from 2011 to 2023 Edinburgh Zoo was home to two giant pandas.


