Edinburgh Zoo raises £246,000 for wildlife conservation at Giraffe About Town auction

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) raised an incredible £246,000 last night (Tuesday 4 October) at the auction of 37 giraffe sculptures which were part of Edinburgh Zoo’s city-wide Giraffe About Town trail this summer. 

35 stunning eight-foot-tall sculptures, one bejewelled four-foot sculpture and one mystery lot were sold to raise vital funds for the wildlife conservation charity, with Endangered Scotland, designed by Adriana de Matos, receiving the highest bid at £14,000. 

TV personality and renowned auctioneer Charles Hanson kept the crowd at the National Museum of Scotland enthralled throughout the evening with some exciting bidding wars and quirky stories of the giraffes and their artists. 

Ben Supple, director of engagement and business development at RZSS, said, “We are absolutely delighted and incredibly grateful for the outstanding support our charity received from bidders at the Giraffe About Town auction. 

“The trail has been a wonderful way to encourage more people to explore our beautiful city after lockdown and celebrate the capital’s rich and diverse cultural heritage. 

“Raising £246,000 is a fantastic achievement that will help support our charity’s vital wildlife conservation work here in Scotland and around the world, from protecting giraffes and chimpanzees in Uganda to restoring wildcats and pine hoverflies in the Highlands. 

“Giraffe About Town would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of so many individuals, organisations, schools and community groups. We cannot wait to see the herd in their new homes.” 

RZSS is a wildlife conservation charity with a bold vision: a world where nature is protected, valued and loved.