Glasgow zoo opened in 1947 at Calder Park, a beautiful 40 hectare site on the North Calder Water in suburban Glasgow/pphe zoo is run by the Royal Zoological Society of Glasgow and West Scotland. Despite extremely limited funding, efforts are being made to upgrade its exhibits and facilities
The staff are clearly dedicated to the welfare of the animals as the enclosures are clean and the animals look healthy and show little stereotypic behaviour.
Several endangered species are being successfully bred including Heloderm Lizards, Cheetahs, Geoffroy's Cats, Ocelots, Margays, White Rhinoceros and Pere David's Deer.
The international studbook for Heloderm lizards, the European studbook for Clouded Leopards, and the national studbook for Capuchin Monkeys are kept at Glasgow.
The Himalayan Black Bear exhibit has achieved world acclaim. It is a 1.2 hectare enclosure with night and winter quarters, feeding and display area and a large area of natural woodland. The bears are so at home that they build nests in the trees from material they forage in the exhibit, a behaviour which is not credited by experts until they actually see it happening.
Behaviour enrichment is high on the priorities of the keepers. The tigers have been provided with a good view of the riding school across the river and the porcupine have been given a real earth enclosure to allow them to dig and forage naturally/pphe keepers are rightly proud of their efforts to improve animal husbandry techniques for reptiles. The zoo provides a service to other zoos sexing reptiles by behavioural means rather than the more risky laporoscopic method/pphe highlight of the visit was the hospitality extended by Richard O'Grady, the Director , and Stephen Bostock, the Education Officer who is also the Zoo's Ethicist/pphe collection includes