Edinburgh Zoo on Monday celebrated its 100th anniversary with a series of events aimed to give visitors including children the chance to reconnect to the natural world.
First opened on 22 July 1913, the zoo has become one of Scotland's most popular visitor attractions with the arrival of giant pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang in December 2011, attracting more than 800,000 visitors last year, compared with 525,000 over the whole of 2011.
Edinburgh Zoo Chief Executive Officer Chris West told Xinhua that Edinburgh Zoo is one of the world's leading zoos because of its work in education, in research and in the range of species that it looks after.
"So, we have been at the front of looking after and breeding penguins, and, of course very recently, one of our great achievements is having Giant pandas and looking after Giant pandas as part of the Chinese-led program," he noted.
"Very significantly, in the past four and five years, we have been getting to know colleagues mainly in Sichuan, and also in Beijing to learn from each other about science and securing a future for pandas." West added.
Edinburgh Zoo's future is to play a crucial role in raising awareness amongst its visitors about the importance of securing a future for all species, West was quoted as saying in a press release for the celebration event.
"The Zoo will also continue to expand its work on groundbreaking conservation projects both within Scotland and on an international level." he added.
Jeremy Peat, Chair for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said there has been a world of change over the past century and yet the Zoo has adapted and flourished because of determination, progressive thinking, expert animal husbandry skills and the formalizing of education within the Zoo.
A life-size, three-foot (about 0.91-meter) tall sculpture cake of a king penguin on display on the front lawns commemorates the Zoo being the first collection to successfully hatch king penguins outside the southern hemisphere, and a metre-high "100" sign was placed in Penguins Rock at the Zoo.
Respected Scottish actor John Hannah, who narrated the recent Edinburgh Zoo centenary documentary Animal Magic, also attended the celebration and shared the joy with visiting school students led by teachers.
A couple, who dressed in full period costumes as the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland Director Thomas Gillespie and his wife when the Zoo was first opened in 1913, were on hand to explain how the Zoo has changed over the past 100 years.
Owned by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, a registered charity, Edinburgh Zoo has been home to many famous animal residents, more recently the UK's only koalas, Alinga, Yabbra and Goonaroo as well as the UK's only giant pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang.
