Animals that failed to disappoint - Scotland day 3

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Polar bears or European bears? That is the question. I like a European bear, they have friendly faces and dance like no one is watching. However, polar bears have self-assured attitude and it was cool to see them today, even though they got so muddy they were as brown as your standard bear.

To see polar bears in Scotland, we had to leave Edinburgh at 7.30 am after bidding adieu to Helen, Saul and adorable baby Maisie. We drove up north to the Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig.

The enclosures at the park were massive and we had to walk about a fair bit to see the animals, who didn't let us down. The majority of them were running about despite the mad weather, from strong sunshine, to gale force winds, driving rain and hail - sometimes all at once. You can tell a lot about the park by the animals they have: Arctic Foxes, Snow Monkeys, Polar Bears, Snowy Owls....

Victoria the polar bear was swimming and playing, posing for our photos. And than she rolled in the blackest mud she could find and looked nothing like the pristine white polar bears you see on telly.

The Scottish wildcats had a huge selection of enclosures with adjoining overhead tunnels that they could look down at us lowly humans from. apparently there were Scottish Wildkittens too, but their mum wouldn't let them out.

There were a few talks during feeding times and the lady that held them was really nice and knowledgeable. She stroked the Red Pandas (important training for them to be accustomed to humans should they need a vet). OMG they are so cute but the poor male is named Kevin.

The Amur Tigers were unusually incredibly active and we heard all about the breeding programs and how the zoos are trying to save endangered species of various animals, have managed to re-introduce some back into the wild. The female needed to be kept separate as the tigers shouldn't breed every year, so she was a bit exasperated. But she came right up to the glass that I could touch at the same time and it was amazing to be so close.

There was a drive through area that we drove through, being able to open the windows as the animals appeared not to be dangerous. We left around four and drove up to our caravan at Dornoch. We are right on the coast with a sea view at 'award winning' beaches!

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