Highland Wildlife Park

The Highland Wildlife Park sits in a stunning position in the Cairngorms, combining the best of a traditional zoo with a safari-style driving experience through spacious enclosures. Run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the same organisation behind Edinburgh Zoo, it specialises in animals adapted to cold climates and plays a crucial role in conservation breeding programmes for endangered species, including the critically endangered Scottish wildcat.

The drive-through reserve takes you into the territory of European bison, elk, and red deer, animals that once roamed wild across Scotland. Stop to watch these magnificent creatures grazing against a backdrop of Highland mountains. In the main reserve, the stars are the polar bears—the park is home to the UK's only polar bear cub born in 25 years—alongside wolves, Amur tigers, and snow leopards prowling their carefully designed habitats.

But the Highland Wildlife Park has a deeper mission beyond entertainment. It's home to the Scottish wildcat conservation breeding programme, working to save Britain's most endangered mammal from extinction. You can also see red pandas, Japanese macaques, and Arctic foxes, all thriving in the cool Highland climate that suits them perfectly. With keeper talks, feeding sessions, and walk-through reserves where lemurs might jump onto your path, this is wildlife engagement at its best—educational, conservation-focused, and utterly memorable.