Highland Wildlife Park

The Highland Wildlife Park is a safari park and zoo covering 105 hectares in Kingussie, set inside the Cairngorms National Park. It is run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which also manages Edinburgh Zoo. The park belongs to the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. In 1972 it opened as a native-species collection, later becoming a global tundra and mountain habitat display. The change brought endangered species such as Amur tigers, snow leopards and polar bears to the Highlands. The park’s animals now include European elk, white-lipped deer, red pandas and wolverines, many of them breeding successfully. Sasha and Yuri, an Amur tiger pair, arrived from Edinburgh Zoo and produced three cubs in 2009. A female polar bear called Victoria gave birth to a male cub named Hamish in 2017, the first UK polar bear born for 25 years. Snow leopards and Amur leopards have also arrived, along with Mishmi takins and Turkmenian markhors. The park’s breeding programme supports conservation across the globe. Visitors drive through the Main Reserve past European bison, Przewalski’s horses and Bactrian camels. They then walk among enclosures for Eurasian wolves, Amur tigers and a polar bear. Himalayan tahr, Japanese macaques and Arctic foxes occupy rocky and wooded habitats. The walk-round area includes aviaries for great grey owls and common cranes. Signs explain how each species fits into mountain ecosystems worldwide. The park’s setting within the Cairngorms offers sweeping Highland views between animal encounters.