AZVOLRIEN

zebber

Nils has a new flipper band. It's still purple, but now it just has an N on it rather than his full name.

Don't try to hug a koala. They might look soft and cuddly, but they do in fact have very sharp claws.

The otter family were also out and about. I don't know what was under that rock that they found so interesting, but they didn't seem to care who they had to drown to get to it.

You might notice that she's missing some claws on her back right foot. I don't know the exact circumstances of that, but I think I once read she was rescued from the illegal pet trade, so possibly she lost them in a trap.

Although this species isn't new to the zoo (they've kept Indian rhinos for years now), this individual is a relative newcomer; Jai here only arrived at the zoo in April this year. Edinburgh Zoo doesn't breed Indian rhinos, but acts as more of a foster home for young males who're old enough to leave their mothers but still too young to join the breeding programme.

The zoo also keeps buff-cheeked gibbons, and has for as long as I can remember; however, I very rarely get half-decent photos of them, as the setup of their habitat - a huge cage with lots of space for brachiation and plenty of plant cover - makes it difficult to get a clear view for very long.

The Embodiment of Sin

The zoo recently welcomed another Pallas's cat to keep Akiko company. I didn't get a good enough look to be sure if this is him or his new lady friend Duchess, but hopefully they'll hit it off; kittens would be quite a coup.

I chanced to swing by the binturong habitat during feeding time, so I saw it doing something other than sleeping for a change. Normal service had resumed when I came back later in the day.

The cotton-top tamarins were having an intense dispute over who got to sit in the little wicker tent.

They've got another Lego sculpture trail (of the possibly-not-actually-Lego-if-you're-being-strict-about-copyright kind) set up for the summer. Some pretty impressive models on display! The third one was labelled as a shark, but I think either that was a mistake or they didn't get the shape of the head quite right, because it looks more like a Dunkleosteus to me.