Royal Zoological Society of Scotland

Dr. Helen Senn

Jun 222021

Edinburgh Zoo, EH12 6TS

Portrait of Dr. Helen Senn surrounded by a beaver, wildcat, and wasp displayed near the wildcat enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo — Dr. Helen Senn by Shona Hardie; image by Chris Scott Photography

Dr. Helen Senn is the Head of Conservation and Science at Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), the charity that leads Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park, and manages the WildGenes conservation genetics lab. Overseeing all 23 wild conversation projects and working as a conservation genetics specialist, Helen supports reintroduction projects for critically endangered species around the world. Many of the species Helen and the team at RZSS support are on the brink of extinction. Their work helps to protect species in the wild and establish captive breeding populations to support species recovery. Using her scientific and planning expertise, Helen is at the forefront of saving critically endangered species both in Scotland and globally.

New Curious Edinburgh tours

On October 23 we will be officially launching our newest tour on the History of Witchcraft in Edinburgh during an event at the Edinburgh Futures Institute starting at 3pm. Please register here and hope to see you there!

On International Women’s Day 2024, we launched a new tour featuring locations in Edinburgh connected to amazing women in STEM. Celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion in STEM by taking a look at Edinburgh-connected women who have made an impact in a wide range of STEM fields.

Check out our new bird trail! We are currently working on the development of coastal trails, in collaboration with Traveltech for Scotland and the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy Scotland’s Coastal Knowledge map. Here you can upload your own experiences of the coast, including birds you have spotted.

Last year we added the Second World War tour developed by academics from the schools of Social and Political Science and History, Classics and Archeology.