The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is a

learned society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...

and

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland. It was founded by

Thomas Haining Gillespie Thomas Haining Gillespie FRSE FSZS (3 October 1876 – 3 August 1967) was a Scottish solicitor, zoological administrator, and broadcaster. He was the founder of Edinburgh Zoo and of its parent organisation the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. ...

in 1909. In 1913,

Edinburgh Town Council The politics of Edinburgh are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of the City of Edinburgh Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament. Also, as Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh is host to the S ...

bought a large plot of land on

Corstorphine Hill Corstorphine Hill is a low ridge-shaped hill rising above the western suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. Although there has been residential and commercial development on its lower slopes, especially in the south and west, most of the hill is occu ...

for the society - this later opened to the public as

Edinburgh Zoo Edinburgh Zoo (), formerly the Scottish National Zoological Park, is an non-profit zoological park in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The zoo is positioned on the south-facing slopes of Corstorphine Hill, giving extensive vie ...

. The society received its

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

in 1913. The principal objective of the society mentioned in the original

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

is:

To promote, facilitate and encourage the study of
zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
and kindred subjects and to foster and develop amongst the people an interest in and knowledge of animal life.

In 1986, the society acquired the

Highland Wildlife Park The Highland Wildlife Park is a safari park and zoo in Kingussie, Highland (council area), Highland, Scotland. The park is located within the Cairngorms National Park. The park is run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and is a member o ...

Kingussie Kingussie ( ; ) is a small town in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland council area of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Inverness-shire, it lies beside the A9 road (Great Britain), A9 road, although the old route of ...

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...

References

External links

* British biology societies Zoological societies 1909 establishments in Scotland Charities based in Edinburgh Nature conservation in Scotland Zoolog Science and technology in Scotland Professional associations based in Scotland Scientific organizations established in 1909 Learned societies of Scotland Scientific organisations based in the United Kingdom {{zoo-org-stub

See also

References

External links